Artificial Intelligence and the African Philosophy of Ubuntu
By Dorine van Norren In this lecture, Dorine van Norren explores the implications of Ubuntu philosophy on AI ethics. She begins with an overview of Ubuntu, explaining its central idea of “I am because we are”. She then looks at the COMEST principles, which informed the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, drawing comparisons between the Western or Global North’s approach to principles with that of the Ubuntu philosophy. Through this exercise, she makes the case for a more inclusive approach to AI ethics and raises key questions to guide future discourse in this space.
Read, Watch, and Listen
- Preliminary Study on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, UNESCO. Preliminary Study on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. 26 Feb. 2019.
- UNESCO - Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence,
- African Ubuntu and Sustainable Development Goals: seeking human mutual relations and service in development, Van Norren, Dorine E.. "African Ubuntu and Sustainable Development Goals: seeking human mutual relations and service in development." Third World Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 12, 2022, pp. 2791-2810.
- Africa Knows! Conference Panel: Artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing in Africa with Dorine van Norren and Peter-Paul Verbeek,
- The ethics of artificial intelligence, UNESCO and the African Ubuntu perspective, Van Norren, Dorine E.. "The ethics of artificial intelligence, UNESCO and the African Ubuntu perspective." Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 112-128.