"Any data scientist working to automate issues of a social nature, in effect, is engaged in making moral and ethical decisions – they are not simply dealing with purely technical work but with a practice that actively impacts individual people." - Abeba Birhane

Colonialism in the age of Artificial Intelligence takes the form of “state-of-the-art algorithms” and “AI driven solutions” unsuited to African problems, and hinders the development of local products, leaving the continent dependent on Western software and infrastructure.

As we hand over decision-making regarding social issues to automated systems developed by profit-driven corporates, not only are we allowing our social concerns to be dictated by the profit incentive, but we are also handing over moral and ethical questions to the corporate world, argues ABEBA BIRHANE