Soft power as Africa’s differentiator in the Global AI Race- By Funso Aina

In looking at AI disruptions, it is clear that two countries are dominating the AI race – US and China, which naturally gives them the power to set the standards that the rest of us will have to abide with.

The question now is, where does that leave Africa, which is generally disadvantaged in all indexes of human development? The answer is simple, since we cannot compete at advanced levels; but based on the strong values that makes us distinctive (think the concept of ‘Omoluabi,’ for instance among the Yoruba), we need to find ways of exercising soft forms of cultural power that work through attraction and co-opting others to see our PoV.

But to do this, we need to deepen our knowledge of AI capabilities, understand its shortcomings, and try to institute moral guardrails as it pertains to our distinctive African audiences. If well-developed, this can be a differentiator.