The call by the Pan-African Parliament for ethical governance of artificial intelligence (AI) is far more than a mere technical issue ; it is a historic crossroads for Africa. For the continent’s leaders, innovators, and citizens, the question is not whether we should adopt AI, but how we will master it to serve a project of sovereignty and rebirth.
Let’s decode the implications of the Lusaka declaration to outline a framework for action so that Africa can move from being an object of digital globalization to a subject of its own destiny.
A continental awakening to the inevitable
In an article titled “AI Under Scrutiny: The Pan-African Parliament Calls for Ethical Governance”, the media platform Afrique IT News reports a welcome awareness at the highest African institutional level: the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has taken up the challenge of artificial intelligence. The facts are clear: parliamentarians, gathered in Midrand, expressed their strong concerns about the risks of uncontrolled AI adoption. The concerns are multiple and legitimate: job destruction, amplification of discriminatory biases, threats to privacy and human rights, and security risks.
In response, the PAP advocates not rejection, but action: the urgent development of a common legal and ethical framework across the continent. The stated objective is to ensure that AI deployment is “human-centered” and aligned with the interests of African populations.
This initiative, although late given the speed of the global technological race, constitutes an essential political signal: Africa refuses to passively suffer the fourth industrial revolution. It intends to define the rules on its own soil.
Beyond the code, the question of power
Analyzing this call solely from the angle of regulatory compliance or data protection would be a strategic error. The stakes are much deeper and touch upon the very foundations of the continent’s sovereignty, identity, and future development. The new scramble for Africa is no longer just for its minerals, but also for its data. Data is the oil of AI. Without a clear legal framework that asserts African ownership and control over this data, the continent risks becoming a mere digital quarry. Algorithms, designed and controlled from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen, will dictate our economies, our politics, and even our social perceptions. This is the perfect recipe for manufacturing a new form of dependence, a digital “failed state” where cognitive infrastructures are controlled from outside.
AI is the main battlefield of rivalry between global powers. “Big Tech” are no longer mere companies ; they have become “Big States,” geopolitical entities acting in symbiosis with their home governments. In the absence of a unified and strong African position, the continent will become a mere playground for these blocs, who will deploy their technologies there to extend their influence, according to their own norms and interests. A fragmented, country-by-country approach would only exacerbate competition between African states and facilitate a “divide and conquer” strategy by tech giants.
Artificial intelligence is a reflection of the values and biases of its creators. AI systems trained on predominantly Western or Asian data will only import and reinforce foreign worldviews in Africa. This is a direct threat to the “battle of ideas”. This can lead to a new “rape of the imagination,” where solutions to our problems, criteria for success, and models of society are suggested, or even imposed, by algorithmic black boxes. Defining “ethical” AI for Africa means ensuring that it incorporates principles like Ubuntu, community solidarity, and social justice, instead of merely optimizing efficiency and profit.
A condition for strategic survival
The alarm sounded by the PAP reveals several strategic imperatives for African leaders. Africa can no longer afford to be reactive. In the technological field, waiting to see negative effects before legislating means accepting that you have already lost. It is necessary to act upstream, define a vision, and impose our conditions of entry into our own market. Yes, there is an urgent need to be proactive!
Moreover, Africa’s strength lies in its unity. Only a coordinated pan-African approach can give the continent the necessary weight to negotiate on equal terms with tech giants and global powers. The common framework called for by the PAP is not an option; it is a condition for strategic survival. The fight must not be waged solely by politicians. It must involve a general mobilization of African intelligences: universities, research centers, entrepreneurs, civil society. Africa must invest massively not only to use AI, but also to create it. It is by producing our own knowledge, our own algorithms, and our own solutions that we will regain our intellectual autonomy.
From declaration of intent to concrete action
To move from declaration of intent to concrete action, African decision-makers can focus on three strategic axes:
Axis 1: Building the governance architecture.
*Create a Pan-African Artificial Intelligence Agency (APIA): Beyond the Digital Transformation Agenda for Africa (2020-2030), the African Union could work towards creating an agency that would be responsible for proposing the common regulatory framework, certifying AI systems authorized to operate on the continent, and pooling expertise.
*Impose data sovereignty: All legislation must enshrine the principle that data of African citizens and businesses generated in Africa must, by default, be hosted and processed on the continent.
*Demand Algorithmic Transparency: For AI systems with significant impact (justice, security, health, recruitment), companies must be required to provide independent audits of their algorithms to detect and correct biases.
Axis 2: Building the production ecosystem.
*Launch an “AI plan for Africa”: Direct development funds and public investments towards massive training of African talents (engineers, data scientists, AI ethicists).
*Create African “digital commons”: Fund the creation of large, high-quality African databases (linguistic, agronomic, medical) to train AI models adapted to our realities.
*Use the lever of public procurement: Systematically prioritize AI solutions developed by African startups and companies in public markets.
Axis 3: Anchoring AI in society.
*Promote digital and critical education: Launch large-scale awareness campaigns so that citizens understand the challenges of AI and become demanding actors in its governance.
*Support “citizen collectives” for monitoring: Encourage the creation of observatories and NGOs specializing in monitoring the impact of AI, acting as independent counter-powers.
The choice of refoundation
Artificial intelligence is neither good nor bad; it is an amplifier of the intention that guides it. For Africa, it represents both the risk of unprecedented digital servitude and the historic opportunity to accelerate its renaissance. By choosing to regulate AI in a clear, ethical, and sovereign manner, the continent is not only protecting itself from future threats ; it is giving itself the means to reinvent its governance, transform its economy, and strengthen its place in the world. It is an act of refoundation. The time has come to choose to no longer be the question, but to become the answer.
By Esimba Ifonge