Artificial Intelligence, Journalism, and the Ubuntu Robot in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards a Normative Framework

Abstract

This study investigates the integration of Ubuntu philosophy into AI-driven journalism practices in Subs-Saharan Africa. With a particular focus on its challenges, opportunities, and implications for fostering inclusivity, the study delineates practical lines of inquiry, including prioritizing diverse data sources, establishing ethical guidelines, promoting AI literacy, ensuring transparency and accountability, and equitable resource allocation. Drawing on interviews with journalists from Congo DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, the findings suggest that African journalists encounter a spectrum of experiences in their engagement with AI tools, ranging from enthusiastic embrace to skepticism regarding their reliability and representativeness. Against the backdrop, the study proposes a normative lens inspired by the Ubuntu philosophy, emphasizing relationality, social progress, social harmony, and human dignity, as a guiding framework for the responsible use of AI in journalism. By reimagining AI journalism within the Ubuntu philosophy, the study underscores the potential to create a technology landscape where all individuals and communities are treated equitably, aligning with the principles of interconnectedness, communal responsibility, and collective well-being.