Kampala, Uganda: Victoria University Vice Chancellor, Dr Lawrence Muganga, has renewed calls for Africa to urgently invest in Africa-owned artificial intelligence infrastructure, warning that continued reliance on offshore data processing risks turning the continent into a secondary consumer of its own data.
Speaking to CGTN Africa on Monday, Prof Muganga said Africa’s push for artificial intelligence can no longer be delayed, especially given its rapidly growing and youthful population.
“It’s really long overdue,” Muganga said. “We have the youngest population in the world, and when you are talking about a technology as transformative as artificial intelligence, we need to be at the highest end of embracing it, using it, and having a say in how our data is processed.”
Muganga argued that Africa’s biggest disadvantage in the global AI race has been the external processing of data generated on the continent, which he said undermines digital sovereignty. “We are not happy that all the data generated on the African continent is processed elsewhere,” he said. “Instead of being primary processors and users, we have become secondary users.”
The transformational educationist pointed to Uganda’s soon-to-be-launched AI data centre, described as the first of its kind on the continent, as a major turning point for Africa’s digital independence.
“With the emergence of this first AI data centre on the African continent, situated here in Uganda this very year, we are beginning to see real signs of data sovereignty,” Muganga said. “It gives us compute independence and the confidence that our data is no longer kept offshore.”
Muganga said local AI infrastructure, combined with Africa’s youthful demographics, creates a unique opportunity for rapid adoption and innovation.
“When young people have access, AI stops being something they have to learn. It becomes a language they speak,” he explained. “Once it becomes part of daily life, they begin to think with it, solve problems with it and innovate with it.”
Muganga, however, warned that artificial intelligence also presents serious risks if left poorly regulated, citing the misuse of AI-generated content to manipulate public opinion and undermine democracy.
“Every technology comes with challenges,” he said. “If AI is not well regulated, not overregulated, but well regulated, you will see it being used in unethical ways that are not pro-development, not pro-democracy and not pro-human rights.”
Referencing Uganda’s current election period, Muganga said he has observed AI-generated videos being used to distort reality and damage reputations. “People’s personalities are being destroyed simply because someone constructs a video using AI to tell a different story,” he said.
He emphasized that public education and awareness are critical to mitigating the dangers associated with artificial intelligence. “The more people are exposed to AI, the more they understand that it can also be used negatively,” Muganga said.
“Governments must intentionally educate their people to use AI to develop communities, ease service delivery and grow economies, and to reject unethical use,” he added.
Muganga has consistently positioned Africa as a potential global AI leader if it prioritises data sovereignty, local infrastructure and human capital development, arguing that control over data is inseparable from future economic power.
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