Ochendo: An African Journal of Innovative Studies

This paper critically examines the reconfiguration of living conditions in Africa within the emerging age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) from a humanities perspective. Moving beyond reductionist economic and technological metrics, it conceptualizes living conditions as encompassing dignity, cultural meaning, social relations, and moral agency. Situated within Africa's historical experience of precolonial technological integration, colonial disruption, and postcolonial dependency, the study interrogates AI not as a neutral innovation but as a socio-technical system embedded with external epistemologies, values, and power structures. It argues that uncritical adoption of AI risks reinforcing digital colonialism, cultural marginalization, and social inequality, particularly through algorithmic bias, linguistic exclusion, and the restructuring of work, education, and governance. Drawing on African philosophical traditions that emphasize relationality, community, and ethical personhood, the paper highlights the tension between computational rationality and humanistic values. It further explores the cultural implications of AI, including the threat of homogenization and the erosion of indigenous knowledge systems, while also recognizing the potential for creative adaptation and renewal. Central to the argument is the indispensable role of the Arts and Humanities in providing critical, interpretive, and imaginative frameworks for engaging AI. The study proposes a humanistic vision of AI grounded in African cultural contexts, advocating for epistemic sovereignty, inclusive technological design, and socially responsive innovation. It concludes that the future of AI in Africa must be guided by ethical reflection and cultural consciousness to ensure that technological advancement enhances human flourishing, preserves identity, and promotes social justice. The study adopts philosophical methods of phenomenology and hermeneutics.

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