Cultural Diversity and Inclusivity in Africa's Internet Landscape

What is it about?

The article investigates the African Union’s (AU) data governance frameworks, including the AU Data Policy Framework and the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, to determine their impact on inclusivity and cultural diversity within Africa’s digital realm. The findings reveal limited efforts, with only the AU Data Policy Framework partially incorporating a somewhat culturally diverse and inclusive approach in the African data ecosystem. The AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection framework appears to be divorced from an inclusive and culturally sensitive approach. The study canvasses for more strategic efforts to entrench cultural representation, inclusion and diversity by design in developing and implementing AI systems in and for Africans. It provides recommendations on exploring emerging technologies for indigenous culture preservation and inclusivity. It offers valuable insights into how policy interventions can improve data governance for greater cultural representation and inclusivity.

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Why is it important?

It is important because the diverse and extensive variety of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, can lead to cultural appropriation, misuse and digital adaptation of indigenous group’s data, art, and music. The dearth or inadequate consideration of cultural diversity and inclusion in the design, development and implementation of AI systems will exacerbate marginalisation, discrimination, algorithmic oppression and other ethical concerns in the AI sphere.