Africa risks new colonisation through Artificial Intelligence, Falola Warns

Renowned historian and distinguished academic, Professor Toyin Falola, has issued a stark warning that Africa is on the verge of a new and insidious form of colonial domination—data colonialism, driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.

Delivering the 35th Convocation Lecture of the Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, on Thursday, Professor Falola sounded an alarm on the implications of Africa’s continued technological dependency and digital marginalisation. Speaking on the topic, “The Advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Nigerian Tertiary Education,” he argued that the rise of AI technologies, while transformative, is also ushering in a renewed era of exploitation, one that mirrors the continent’s colonial past.

“Just as colonial powers once partitioned Africa for its physical resources, AI giants are today partitioning us digitally,” he declared. “The raw materials this time are not minerals or oil, but our data, our identities, our behaviours.”

Falola explained that Artificial Intelligence—often described as an “infrastructure of life”—has penetrated virtually every aspect of modern existence, from agriculture and healthcare to education, warfare, entertainment, and industrial operations. However, beneath its transformative promise lies a troubling global reality: a race for digital supremacy marked by massive data extraction and commodification.

He noted that leading scholars like Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejias have aptly described this process as data colonialism—a phenomenon whereby data from the Global South, particularly Africa, is mined by powerful tech corporations in the Global North, leaving the continent vulnerable to new forms of control and exclusion.

“AI is now challenging what was long believed to be the exclusive domain of human creativity,” Falola said. “Yet, as we marvel at its abilities, we must also confront the troubling truth: Africa is once again positioned as a site of extraction, not innovation.”

The lecture placed this contemporary crisis within a historical framework, drawing parallels between the current scramble for African data and the infamous Berlin Conference of 1884–85, when European powers partitioned the continent without African consent. According to Falola, just as colonial boundaries were drawn to serve imperial interests, digital infrastructures and platforms are now being built in ways that exclude African voices, limit local agency, and deepen technological dependency.

“Africa cannot afford to be a mere spectator in the unfolding AI revolution,” he warned. “If we do not act with urgency, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past—watching passively as others define our future, our systems, and our knowledge.”

To avert this looming crisis, Professor Falola proposed a series of policy and structural interventions aimed at reclaiming Africa’s digital sovereignty and ensuring its meaningful participation in the global AI landscape.

Foremost among his recommendations is the establishment of an African AI Consortium—a collaborative platform that would bring together governments, universities, research institutes, private sector actors, and civil society to pool resources and expertise. According to him, the scale of investment and infrastructure required for AI innovation is beyond the capacity of most individual African nations, necessitating regional and continental cooperation.

He also called for a harmonised data protection legal framework across African states, arguing that such a regime would not only shield the continent from exploitation by foreign tech corporations but also promote digital commerce, innovation, and trust within Africa.

Another major focus of his lecture was the need for homegrown AI solutions—technologies built by Africans, for Africans, and rooted in African cultural values and indigenous knowledge systems. Falola emphasised the importance of developing ethical AI frameworks that reflect local realities, traditions, and aspirations.

“Our indigenous knowledge systems—long marginalised and overlooked—must be reintegrated into our digital futures,” he said. “They offer alternative logics, communal ethics, and sustainable practices that can shape a more inclusive and responsible AI development.”

Concluding his lecture with a powerful call to action, Professor Falola urged African leaders, scholars, and institutions not to underestimate the stakes of this digital age. “The future is AI, and this future is already here. Whether we can negotiate it on our terms or remain consumers of others’ technologies depends entirely on the decisions we make today,” he said.

He emphasised that Africa must not allow its children to inherit another form of colonisation—this time not by force of arms, but by lines of code, data flows, and digital infrastructure. “We must give our children a future in which they are creators, innovators, and global players, not passive recipients of technological crumbs.”

Professor Toyin Falola, Ph.D., holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a globally celebrated intellectual, Pan-Africanist, poet, author, and scholar who has published extensively on African history, culture, and the politics of knowledge production. He previously served as the Kluge Chair of Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Widely respected for his visionary ideas and relentless advocacy for Africa’s intellectual sovereignty, Falola’s lecture has been described by attendees as both a wake-up call and a roadmap for Africa’s digital future.

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