With France announcing the hosting of the global Artificial Intelligence summit on February 10 and 11, 2025, attended by a significant number of heads of states, business leaders, and technology companies, questions arise about how African countries can benefit from the outcomes of this global event. This is particularly critical in a world where artificial intelligence has become a key component in the competition for influence and a tool to enhance military superiority in warfare. This context is further complicated by unprecedented advancements in AI technologies, raising fears of AI surpassing human intelligence.
The African continent faces significant challenges in keeping pace with developments in AI. Approximately 900 million people are estimated to be offline, with a nearly equal number lacking access to electricity. There is a consensus that advancements in AI could significantly impact African societies and help address many of their crises—potentially adding $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030, provided the continent captures 10% of the market. The coming decade is described as “the digital decade” for Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half of the population is expected to access the internet, which will have positive implications. According to a report published by the research consultancy (Public First), a 1% increase in internet connectivity could boost GDP by about 6%.
In light of these changes, and the expectation that the France summit next February will address the challenges facing AI in Africa, discussions have resurfaced about whether this summit could serve as a launchpad for placing Africa on the global AI map and initiating its participation in establishing regulatory frameworks for the field.
The Importance of the Summit:
Against a backdrop of varied contexts related to the African continent and the global order, there are indicators that make the global AI summit in France particularly significant for Africa, which can be outlined as follows:
Growing African Interest in AI in 2024: This is evident in three main areas. First, Africa has adopted several historic agreements related to AI, including the African Digital Charter and the African AI Strategy, marking the first continental strategy aimed at enhancing Africa’s digital future and development aspirations. Second, several African nations have launched national AI strategies, embedding these within national legislation. Third, African leaders have recognized that AI is not merely a luxury but essential, prompting them to actively engage in global AI events and attract foreign investments in the field.
Introducing New Topics at the France Summit: One of the most critical new topics will be the environmental impact of energy-consuming technologies and ensuring internet access for all nations. These issues are directly tied to the African crises, especially as Africa is the continent most affected by the consequences of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions. The upcoming summit may reaffirm recommendations from the UN Environment Programme, emphasizing the need for countries to adopt unified measures to gauge the environmental impact of AI and requiring tech companies to disclose the immediate environmental consequences of AI-based products and services while encouraging the use of renewable energy.
African Aspirations to Utilize AI in Internal Conflicts: While using AI in military campaigns is not new globally, its application by Israel in its conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon has brought this issue into a new light due to the differing technologies used and the capacity to target large numbers of individuals. This context may inspire African leaders facing internal crises and conflicts to explore the use of AI in targeting opponents or addressing internal rebellions and terrorist groups.
Rising US-China Competition: AI is becoming a new axis of competition between the United States and China for dominance in the African market. This arises amid newly emerging technology applications from both countries that have the potential to spread in Africa, as tensions between them intensify.
Technological Influence:
As France continues to lose its influence in West Africa and aspires to position itself as a leader in AI, forecasts suggest Paris will leverage the upcoming summit to redefine its relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa by forming partnerships with allied nations and seeking new areas of influence, particularly with English-speaking countries. Nigeria, as a strong ally of France in West Africa and the top trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, is likely to be a focus for agreements on AI during this summit, coinciding with Nigeria’s ambitions to become a major data center capable of powering AI models.
In light of a broader shift in French foreign policy towards engaging regions beyond its traditional spheres of influence, Kenya is also positioned to enhance cooperation with France in AI, reflecting their developing bilateral relations, particularly after France announced that Kenya would be the first non-Francophone African nation to host the African French summit in 2026—a summit that had previously only been held in France and Francophone African nations since its inception in 1973.
South Africa is another key player expected to gain attention during the AI summit due to its strong trade relationship with France and its efforts to develop AI systems and attract foreign investments in this sector.
Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa dominate the AI landscape in crucial areas of the continent, housing the largest number of companies operating in this field in Sub-Saharan Africa, thus allowing France to deepen its collaboration and establish its digital and technological influence.
Two Main Pathways:
The upcoming France summit is likely to see significant attendance from a number of African leaders or their representatives, especially following an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to many of these leaders. The African agenda at this summit may revolve around two tracks:
- The collective African position represented by the African Union Commission, which is expected to present the African Digital Charter and the African AI Strategy, reiterating the need to support Africa’s use of the latest digital technologies across all sectors, placing the continent on the global path regarding AI applications, and achieving consensus on the ethical considerations of these applications.
- The unilateral stance of individual African leaders, who will have the opportunity to emphasize the need for AI systems that are adapted to the African context, reflecting the continent’s diversity in terms of language, culture, and history. There will also likely be competition among African countries to sign memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements with major states and technology companies.
Challenges to Benefit:
Despite the momentum surrounding the upcoming France summit, especially regarding aspirations for digital equity and reducing the environmental impact of AI, the outcomes of this summit may reinforce Western dominance in technology, leaving Africa without the necessary tools and capacities to develop its AI sector, continuing to position its populations as consumers of technologies designed elsewhere. Several challenges may impede Africa’s ability to benefit from the summit’s outcomes and hinder its capacity to bolster local innovation in AI, including:
Weak Technological Infrastructure in Africa: Most countries on the continent face challenges related to technological infrastructure, a low number of internet-connected individuals, a shortage of skills and expertise capable of managing digital transformation, as well as economic crises that hinder the allocation of financial resources needed to establish a national AI industry. This leads to a persistent reliance on international partners and Western technology firms.
Reinforcing Dependence on Technology from Advanced Countries: Such challenges may obstruct Africa’s participation in establishing regulatory frameworks that encourage local AI innovation by hampering access to technology and the internet across the continent while ensuring continued dependency on the digital technology of advanced counterparts. This limits the growth potential of local African companies as multinational firms from developed nations gain increasing power and possess the means to manipulate the African market, confining Africa’s role primarily to supplying data for AI models. This one-way flow of data perpetuates a cycle of economic dependency, deepening the technological gap between Africa and the rest of the world and enhancing Western cultural and ideological dominance.
Impact of Trump’s Policies: With the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House, his approach is expected to affect the outcomes of the upcoming France summit, possibly easing oversight on AI development and disregarding ethical considerations. This could lead to insufficient attention being paid to the civil and political rights threats posed by technology and the environmental impacts of AI being a core aspect of the summit, especially since Trump has previously dismissed climate change as a “hoax.”
In conclusion, while developed countries agree on the importance of Africa’s participation in AI summits and conferences, they diverge on the role of this participation in shaping outcomes that reduce the digital divide and deepen local industry. This necessitates African countries to work together to present a shared digital vision that allows the continent to benefit from AI through available opportunities and resources, as well as to invest in foundational infrastructure such as data centers, satellite internet, and education. This is crucial for AI to become a powerful force in shaping Africa’s future rather than merely an instrument of a new digital colonialism.
