African Experts Warn of Urgent Need for AI Laws to Safeguard Cultural and Intellectual Property

Letlhokwa Mpedi, principal and vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, together with Thebe Ikalafeng, chancellor of Sol Plaatje University and professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg Business School, recently published a compelling opinion piece addressing Africa’s lack of legal frameworks to protect its culture and intellectual property in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The article originally appeared in Business Day on June 12, 2026.

Drawing on the revolutionary insights of Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso, who famously stated in 1983 that “He who feeds you controls you,” Mpedi and Ikalafeng argue that Sankara’s warning about imperialism through food aid and debt resonates today in the digital realm. AI systems, they explain, act as mirrors reflecting the data they are trained on. Since much of this data is Western-centric, Africa risks having its cultural identity misrepresented and controlled by external forces.

The authors highlight research by Ethiopian-Irish AI scholar Abeba Birhane, who demonstrated that large image datasets contain deeply racialized and sexualized biases against Africans. This bias is not accidental but a direct consequence of the training data. A 2020 Africa No Filter study further revealed that 63% of journalists covering Africa lack correspondents on the continent, perpetuating distorted narratives that AI models then amplify as authoritative facts.

This phenomenon constitutes a form of cultural extraction akin to historical economic exploitation. Africa’s rich cultural assets—including music, fashion, stories, and its 2,000 languages—are being appropriated without attribution or compensation. Examples cited include Korean instructors teaching Amapiano music, algorithmic replication of Fela Kuti’s sound, Chinese factories reproducing Ghanaian Kente and Maasai fabrics, and AI-generated copies of South African designer Laduma Ngxokolo’s Xhosa-inspired knitwear.

The authors point to South Africa’s successful legal battle to secure a geographical indication (GI) for rooibos tea as a precedent for protecting indigenous knowledge and cultural provenance. However, they stress that intellectual property law remains territorial and favors those who register first. Africa urgently needs AI-specific legal frameworks analogous to GI protections to prevent cultural assets from being commodified abroad without benefit to their originators.

Despite Africa’s demographic and creative significance—home to 17% of the global population but only 1.5% of the creative economy and 2.9% of creative exports—the continent’s share of generated value is disproportionately low. The UN Development Programme notes Nollywood as the world’s second-largest film industry by volume, producing over 2,500 films annually, while Afrobeats ranks as the most-streamed music genre globally. Yet, African collecting societies like South Africa’s Samro and Nigeria’s Coson have not initiated actions to address AI’s unauthorized use of African music, unlike the Hollywood Writers Guild strike in 2023.

Mpedi and Ikalafeng argue that Africa’s lack of legacy infrastructure offers a unique opportunity to innovate AI governance. They cite Kenya and Rwanda attracting AI developers by offering a “blank canvas” and openness to new regulatory models. Initiatives such as Masakhane and Lelapa AI are already working to build African language datasets, essential for AI to serve the continent’s diverse linguistic landscape.

Language diversity presents a critical challenge. With 2,000 languages spoken across Africa, AI models like GPT-4 reliably perform in only about 26, mostly colonial languages such as English, French, and Portuguese. The authors emphasize that African languages encode unique epistemologies—such as Zulu’s conception of time, Yoruba’s social hierarchies, and Setswana’s communal obligations—that cannot be adequately translated or represented by non-African languages. Developing AI in indigenous languages is vital for meaningful cognitive and economic inclusion.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), encompassing 54 nations, 1.4 billion people, and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion, provides a collective platform for Africa to assert digital sovereignty. Mpedi and Ikalafeng call for a unified AfCFTA position on AI training data requirements to prevent a new “digital Berlin Conference” where decisions about Africa’s data and culture are made without its participation.

With approximately 70% of Africa’s population under 30, the continent has a youthful, innovative demographic eager to shape its technological future. However, Brand Africa’s 2025 research reveals a paradox: while 80% of Africans express pride in their identity, only 15% prefer to buy African products. Addressing AI’s cultural extraction through robust legal protections and inclusive governance is essential to reversing this trend and ensuring Africa benefits equitably from its creative wealth.

Mpedi and Ikalafeng’s analysis underscores the urgent need for Africa to develop AI laws that protect cultural heritage and intellectual property, promote indigenous knowledge sovereignty, and foster an AI ecosystem that serves African interests and values.