Artificial Intelligence and the Re-Engineering of...

Artificial Intelligence and the Re-Engineering of Social Values in African Societies

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a powerful socio-technical force reshaping norms, institutions, and moral reasoning across contemporary societies. In African contexts, where social life is traditionally grounded in communalism, relational identity, moral responsibility, and respect for authority, the growing integration of AI-driven systems raises critical questions about value transformation and cultural continuity. This paper critically examines how Artificial Intelligence contributes to the re-engineering of social values in African societies, focusing on its implications for communal ethics, authority structures, identity formation, media practices, and social inequality. Anchored on Technological Determinism, the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT), and African Humanist Philosophy (Ubuntu), the study adopts a qualitative and theoretical approach, drawing insights from sociology, philosophy, media studies, and science and technology studies. The paper argues that while AI-driven technologies often promote individualism, algorithmic authority, and cultural homogenization, they also possess the capacity to reinforce African social values when guided by culturally responsive design, ethical governance, and participatory frameworks. The study concludes that aligning AI development with African philosophical traditions is essential for ensuring that technological innovation supports social cohesion, human dignity, and sustainable development rather than undermining them.

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly transitioned from a specialized computational tool to a pervasive social force shaping contemporary human existence. Once confined to laboratories and technical domains, AI systems now mediate communication, education, governance, healthcare, finance, and cultural production across societies (Russell & Norvig, 2021). This technological expansion has not merely altered how tasks are performed; it has fundamentally restructured how individuals relate to one another, how authority is exercised, and how values are formed and transmitted (Floridi et al., 2018). As such, AI must be understood not only as a technological innovation but as a social institution with the capacity to reengineer societal norms and moral frameworks. In African societies, social values have historically been anchored in communalism, shared responsibility, respect for elders, moral accountability, and strong kinship networks. These values are embedded within cultural practices, oral traditions, religious life, and indigenous systems of knowledge transmission. However, the accelerated adoption of AI-driven technologies often imported, externally designed, and culturally neutral in appearance raises critical questions about the compatibility of algorithmic systems with African social realities (Eubanks, 2018). The integration of AI into everyday life introduces new logics of efficiency, automation, and individual optimization that may conflict with longstanding collective value systems. The problem confronting African societies is not the presence of Artificial Intelligence per se, but the largely uncritical manner in which it is being assimilated into social structures without sufficient ethical,