Ron Eglash will deliver the closing keynote address at the International Workshop on Social Impact of AI for Africa on Saturday, Feb. 26. The workshop is part of the 36th annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, taking place virtually from Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Eglash’s remarks,  “AI at Africa's Crossroads: Extractive or Generative Future?” address the choices we will make for artificial intelligence, both its possibilities to further harm as well as its decolonizing potential in the quest for generative justice. 

From the abstract:

“In African traditions, the crossroads is where the trickster makes his/her appearance. Eshu, Legba, Anansi and others create complexity when our decisions fold back on themselves. AI has created yet another crossroads, and again the trickster brings surprises. What a colonial view would have seen as Africa’s ‘lack of development’ could be the basis by which computational aids can facilitate more sustainable and egalitarian futures. Blending the heritage algorithms of Africa’s past with fullstack decolonization can guide us through the crossroads, on the path towards generative justice.”

Ron Eglash is a professor in the School of Information at University of Michigan. He received his B.S. in cybernetics, his M.S. in systems engineering, and his PhD in history of consciousness, all from the University of California. His work as a Fulbright scholar was published as African Fractals: modern computing and indigenous design. His “Culturally Situated Design Tools” software, offering math and computing education from indigenous and vernacular arts, works on the theory of generative justice.

Find registration details on the UMSI event page.