Is Africa Being Recolonized in the Era of Technological Advancements? Critiquing Africa’s Sovereignty in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Globalization has impacted every sphere of human existence without exception. Today, even the authority to control within demarcated territories is being contested due to the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Influential and wealthy countries in the global north, directly and indirectly, through big technology corporations, are continuously exploiting African countries, dictating their affairs through the export of tech-driven services in health, education, governance, and agriculture. The purpose of this study is to further interrogate the status of Africa’s sovereignty in the era of AI. The article is anchored on digital colonialism theory. It is a qualitative study and utilized in-depth interviews to aggregate expert views from 20 interviewees within the broad spectrum of the AI ecosystem using an interview guide suitable for the objectives of the study. The study established the fact that the US, China, and Europe dominate the global AI ecosystem in terms of investment and governance framework. It found that digital colonialism, a term that explains the exploitation of Africa through tech-driven services and products and is largely responsible for the level of poverty across the continent, is a reversible reality. It identified Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Egypt as Africa’s leading lights in the AI ecosystem, even as achievements remain fragmented and unrealistic. The study recommended the declaration of a state of emergency on AI, acknowledging the technology as an infrastructure of sovereignty.