Africa must choose between being a passive consumer of global technology or a deliberate architect of its own digital future through Ubuntu-centred local AI governance.
This is according to Professor Mpho Primus, co-director of the Institute for Intelligent Systems at the University of Johannesburg, who spoke at the ITWeb Data Insights Summit 2026, held recently at The Forum in Bryanston.
Prof Primus, founder of Primus Tech Hub, said the continent's true data power does not reside in formal corporate structures, but in the massive, largely untapped informal sector.
She introduced the concept of Ubuntu AI as a necessary framework for the continent. While the global West focuses on algorithmic efficiency, she said, Africa’s strength lies in context.
According to Primus, AI systems developed abroad often fail to consider local nuances. These systems frequently struggle with the subtle cultural cues and linguistic variations unique to specific regions.
Without a deep understanding of local social norms, AI may misinterpret the intent behind a speaker’s words, leading to communication breakdowns or unintended offence.
For example, in several South African languages, the word "yes" can signify agreement, politeness or a desire to end a conversation.
"If your system treats all these 'yeses' as the same, you’re going to lose a lot of insights," she said, emphasising that models must be "locally grounded" to be truly effective.
Primus noted that while African firms often ignore the informal sector – comprising stockvels, burial societies and spaza shop fintechs – foreign organisations are heavily investing in mining this data.
"They don’t need to invest in ships or ports because we just upload it for them," she said, referring to the practice of African organisations feeding local data into global cloud systems. This creates an unequal playing field, where Africa generates the value, but external entities capture the profit.
Primus noted the future of African AI will not be decided by algorithms alone, but by the deliberate actions of Africans. She called for the enforcement of local governance standards on any partner wishing to do business on the continent.
"We are not copying Silicon Valley because that model is not designed for us," Primus concluded. "The challenge now is to determine how AI intersects with our local reality and how we enforce our own governance standards to protect it."
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