Decolonizing AI ethics in Africa’s healthcare: An ethical perspective

Owing to the ethical tension between the ethics frameworks developed in the Global North and the African understanding of ethics, health, and care, decolonization can be a useful tool through which Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics is understood and applied in Africa. While existing AI ethics frameworks often reflect Western values and perspectives like individuality, the African setting is still largely communalist. Thus, the current frameworks, developed in the Global North, need to be interpreted in the African context to represent the values of people in Africa. It is then that they will be suitable for addressing the healthcare challenges in Africa today. Challenges like resource constraints, coloniality and the paternalism of the Global North toward the Global South have put Africa at the periphery of the AI Ethics debate. This article discusses the need to “decolonize” AI ethics to ensure just, equitable, and inclusive AI in healthcare in Africa. It critiques the current ethical frameworks largely developed from the Global North in shaping ethical AI development in Africa, calling for the decolonization of ethical principles. The paper discusses key considerations for a decolonized approach in healthcare and proposes key principles that can ensure an approach rooted in African contexts and values.