(AfriquesPlus) - The global expansion of artificial intelligence is exporting Western philosophical assumptions across the developing world, marginalizing indigenous moral frameworks and locking millions out of technological progress, according to an analysis published in Aeon by Fainos Mangena, professor of philosophy and ethics at the University of Zimbabwe.
The Foundations of Ethical Divergence
Modern artificial intelligence systems are built upon the Enlightenment liberalism of John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill, which places personal autonomy and individualism at the center of moral life. When deployed across sub-Saharan Africa, these technologies inevitably collide with Hunhu/Ubuntu, the region’s foundational moral tradition anchored in the proverb Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu—a person is a person through other persons.
As cognitive scientist Abeba Birhane has warned, the unchecked imposition of external value systems through software constitutes algorithmic colonialism, creating a form of technological dependency as damaging as historical subjugation, the author observes in Aeon.
The exclusion of African perspectives extends from software interfaces to global regulatory bodies. By the summer of 2025, only 42 of the more than 2,000 languages spoken across the continent were supported by large language models, leaving 98 percent of African tongues without meaningful digital representation, Aeon reports.
This digital divide is mirrored in policymaking. A 2023 international survey cited in the essay revealed that out of 200 identified AI ethics guidelines worldwide, the overwhelming majority originated in North America, Europe, and East Asia, while Africa contributed only a handful.
This imbalance prevents current technologies from meeting the benchmark of responsible AI formulated by computer scientist Damian Okaibedi Eke and his colleagues, who defined it as « the idea of developing AI systems that will not only be compliant to laws (including human rights provisions) but that are socially/culturally sensitive and acceptable as well as ethically responsible. »
The philosophical divide is particularly acute in decision-making and economic life. Where AI algorithms optimize for individual gain, automated triage, and competitive matching, Hunhu/Ubuntu prioritizes solidarity, shared responsibility, and communal deliberation conducted through the dare, the traditional consultative assembly.
Highlighting this fundamental difference in worldview, theologian John S. Pobee articulated the African perspective as Cognatus ergo sum—« I belong, therefore I exist. » Consequently, while Western platforms frame privacy as individual property and decision-making as solitary, « AI nudges users to look out for themselves; Hunhu/Ubuntu tends toward looking out for each other », Mangena writes.
Creating an equitable digital ecosystem requires integrating local datasets and communal values into core system architectures. As Geneva-based expert Jovan Kurbalija pointed out, AI platforms must reflect the local ethical and cultural milieu when providing guidance on health, family, or employment.
Achieving this transition will demand difficult negotiations with developers and governance bodies worldwide. Drawing on the Shona proverb Rume rimwe harikombi churu—one person cannot surround an anthill—the author concludes that reforming artificial intelligence to serve the whole of humanity must remain an inherently collective endeavor.
