As Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshapes industries globally, Iretomiwa Akintunde-Johnson, West Africa Regional Manager at BlackHouse Media (BHM), and Fisayo Fosudo, a Digital Creator said for Africa to adopt AI without losing its cultural identity, Africans, companies, and governments must prioritise authenticity, trust, and transparency in AI adoption.
The duo made this known during the panel discussion on “Innovation & Creativity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” at the Nigerian Entertainment Conference, NECLive 2025, in Lagos, themed: Powering Africa Through Creative Enterprise.
Specifically speaking, Akintunde-Johnson highlighted BHM’s recently released white paper, “AI Ethics in Africa’s Media and Communications Landscape: A Readiness Framework for 2026 and Beyond,” authored by Executive Director Femi Falodun, a framework designed to guide the continent in ethical AI adoption.
“It incorporates African philosophies such as Omoluabi, meaning a well-brought-up individual and Ubuntu, which emphasises communal feuds, to ensure AI serves people, not just profits.
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“Those benefiting most from AI are often educated urban elites. Meanwhile, farmers in Kwara or Kigali have real-world problems that AI could solve if it were accessible in local languages and designed with their context in mind. Imagine an African farmer using AI to improve farming practices that could set a global example. That’s the kind of innovation we must pursue.” She noted.
On his part, Fisayo Fosudo warned that artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping expertise, creativity, and the future of work across Africa, while raising alarm over the dangers of deepfakes, recounting how scammers used AI to clone his voice and alter one of his interviews, tricking people, including a woman who lost $500 in fraudulent investments.
Speaking on the rise of tools like ChatGPT, Google’s V03 video model, and AI-powered music generators, he noted that many writers and analysts are already losing jobs as clients increasingly rely on AI.
While acknowledging these risks, he maintained that AI still brings powerful advantages, from helping creators understand their audiences to accelerating production processes. The challenge, he said, is ensuring Africans retain their authenticity while learning to use AI responsibly.
“This is very interesting, because something happened to me last year. Someone took a video of me doing an interview and used AI to change what I said. They trained my voice with AI and made me say something I never said. People actually believed it was me. And people invested? There’s a net positive with AI, but there are also negatives we have to worry about. Every disruptive tool will wipe away some jobs at first, but it will also create new jobs. The tool itself isn’t bad; it depends on how people use it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Akintunde-Johnson further stressed that BHM’s white paper revealed gaps in AI readiness as “73% of respondents said they were only somewhat able to identify cultural bias, and over 60% were unsure about detecting deepfakes.
She warned against using AI purely for content creation, churning out LinkedIn posts or marketing content; it should also be used to anticipate trends, solve deep-rooted societal problems, and amplify African creativity.
She called on Africans to adopt AI not just tactically, but strategically through policy creation, educational innovation, ethical implementation, and measurable outcomes, so Africans can become a case study in how a continent can lead AI adoption with their values at the centre.
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