Digital Africa: We need a collective approach to harness the benefits

Digital platforms powered by technological innovations have primarily re-arranged the media space in Africa, and for Africans to tell their story, use technology for empowerment and catch with the rest of the world, it must engage as a continent with the major players especially the big techs.

There is more demand for broad based approaches to the application of technology including AI and measuring its impact on communities than just what the technology providers are doing and providing.

The internet has changed greatly, democratizing communication and public perception of issues, enabling citizens to share their opinion on global matters with less restrictions, and their story best understood by themselves and allowing people the chance to connect with a wide range of great sources and perspectives.

This has increased the range of information available on previously excluded topics and marginalized communities and continents, allowing people to hold warped perceptions on others, perpetuate stereotypes and one sided -largely negative narratives- especially on Africa, Asia and China leading to fear to invest, trade imbalances and negative media coverage devoid of facts.

The media that would have mitigated the situation is caught up and has by design continued present content on these regions with bias often aided by technology. Such tools as artificial intelligence, infused with technology aided bias, continue producing information, either produced by locals at no cost, or have no local context, understanding and meaning, but as defined by community rules determined by the digital platforms and not players on those already regions.

It’s important and urgent that the media, which has equally been affected by technology including digital platforms and AI, lead the effort to call for a fair playing field in how countries access, use and leverage on the impact.

AI has a very big impact on critical issues including public information, elections, and stories of people and their struggles and opportunities, which ought to be told, to influence global perspectives on these people- to deal with the historical injustices and current opportunities to connect and empower them, but this can only happen if the platform providers are fair.

Media in Africa cannot sensitize and provide the much-needed information on platforms owned by others, who determine the rules, regulations and modes of operations. Now that Africa cannot provide its own digital platforms, it must collectively engage and be heard by the world, to be listened to and considered, give its terrain, level of development, language and cultural diversity and historical injustices, in terms of dealing with the use and impact of technology.

In media for example, players on the continent, aware of the background, should adopt more open regimes on content regulation, information integrity and responsible use of digital platforms that don’t compromise freedom of expression and access to information.

Globally, things have changed and moved, but a few people are stuck on criminalizing free speech using arguments on hate speech, harmful content, disinformation, foreign manipulation of information and on extreme petty thinking such as annoying speech yet even with laws on hate speech and publication of false news, very few cases meet the threshold for sustaining a charge.

The technological wars pitting the USA, Europe, China and Russia are too fast for Africa, and a united front from the continent is required today more than ever before. The AU has for example already made a continental AI strategy, a very good move. Kenya recently launched its national AI strategy and bodies such as the Media Council of Kenya that regulates the media space have moved further and developed AI guidelines for use by journalists.

AU needs to with the help of the big techs to spread this strategy and assist more countries domesticate it, while at the same time uniting the continent in engaging with the digital platform providers as a continent rather than as countries, for once divided, the continent won’t get a fair share. It is acknowledged that tech companies have begun stepping up their standards and actions to curb harmful content due to the increasing circulation of illegal and harmful content, although more needs to be done on platforms.

During the 2nd Pana African Media Conference in Arusha recently, Tanzania Vice President Dr.  Phillip Mpango outlined four urgent priorities for Africa’s in the media sector; laws, policies, and regulations that guide AI in ways that protect journalism ethics, the public’s right to accurate information, and sustainable development, African journalists to reclaim the continent’s narrative away from portraying as a land of wars, poverty, and chaos and focus stories of resilience, innovation, and progress through an authentic African voice.

In addition, States and non-state actors must equip citizens with the knowledge and critical skills to navigate today’s information-saturated landscape and resist manipulation through media information and digital literacies, and more importantly establish and sustain strong media accountability mechanisms.

The summit culminated in a forward-looking set of resolutions, committing participants to harness AI as an ally, preserve Africa’s narratives and heritage, and invest in inclusive media development.

Among the key actions adopted: Upskilling journalists and regulators to ethically use AI and combat disinformation, developing African-centric large language models (LLMs) to support indigenous languages and cultural storytelling, mainstreaming digital and media literacy in school curricula, expanding ICT infrastructure through broadband and innovation hubs and  called on African states to require global digital platforms to negotiate fair economic terms with African news publishers — drawing inspiration from Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code and the EU’s Digital Markets Act.