Need For an African Institute for the Study of Future Technologies

Africa now boasts a population of over 1.4 billion people, and in the next 100 years, it is expected to surpass the rest of the world. Nonetheless, Africa remains dependent on established industrialised nations in almost every manner, including food, markets for the sale of its primary products, the supply of manufactured goods, and even the procurement of critical inputs for technological, agricultural, and industrial output. Food is even a necessity in some parts of the continent. Africa is now regarded as a satellite economy where the industrialised nations have little or no regard for the implications of these technologies on their social, cultural, organisational, and economic lives.

One crucial cause of Africa’s problems, notably its lack of advancement, is the continent’s absence of considerable indigenous scholarly and advanced technological development capabilities. It is nearly a fact that the amount of development made by every civilization is proportional to the quantity of suitable technology accessible to it. This is because technology, regardless of how we see it—whether as an artistic creation (embodied technology), practical technical knowledge (e.g., software technology), or the collection of instruments used by humans to create cultural artefacts—is a crucial component of any production process and, consequently, a key driver of advancement.

For instance, technology has made significant progress in increasing the world’s productive capacity, speeding output growth, elevating living standards, particularly in developed nations and propagating modernity. Due to more machinery being made accessible to workers, they create more while exerting less effort in both the workplace and the fields. This is particularly true in industrialised nations, where technological development is known to have significantly increased productivity. In truth, there is no industrialised nation in the modern world where extensive and systematic use of modern technology has not been critical to altering agricultural, industrial, and all social and economic services output.

The acquisition and control of the technology are of utmost importance to all nations due to its transformative roles, but they are especially crucial to less developed nations that seem to be unable to make informed choices about how to transform their sectors technologically and whose underdevelopment is partially a result of their lack of it. The African continent’s inability, like that of other developing nations throughout the world, to source essential contemporary technology resources for growth domestically, combined with the way foreign systems work, has made dependence on foreign supplies unavoidable.

The dependency on technology in Africa is asymmetrical rather than reciprocal.  Asymmetrical technological dependence refers to when a nation may import technology but not export it. It has a one-way relationship. It happens when a nation routinely and continually imports nearly all of its technological resources abroad. This occurs when a nation lacks the local prospect to create the majority of its technological needs, which are thus invariably derived from elsewhere, especially in a subservient manner that is intertwined with the way the foreign economic, ethical, philosophical, social, and cultural systems are structured.

When there is asymmetric technological dependence, imported technologies are taken entirely with no indigenous modifications, adaptations, or incorporations since the will or expertise to do so does not exist. In this instance, rather than encouraging indigenous technological development, foreign technology and its cultures substitute for it. This is the technology situation in which we found ourselves in Africa. These dependency disorders pose a significant threat to African ethical, philosophical, social, cultural, and organisational values. Some of these western technologies do not fit the African environment and, instead, have contributed to the eroding of African cultural values to the verge of nought.

The above sentence implies that unmodified technology transferred into Africa will not be able to satisfy basic human requirements and, therefore, cannot provide satisfying outcomes when applied to the continent. Overcoming these obstacles necessitates investments in scientific knowledge, sophisticated technology, and large-scale research infrastructure.

Africa urgently requires the establishment of a research facility to investigate emerging technologies and their ethical, philosophical, social, organizational, and commercial implications on the continent. That will act as a watchtower for new technologies in Africa. Establishing an institute for future technologies in Africa is an excellent method for bridging the digital divide between the continent and the rest of the globe, also aims to be a bridgehead with academia, public authorities, and government and regulatory bodies.

The implications are evident when the above occurs, and the pool of local talents and knowledge is encouraged or actively deployed to immediately relevant sectors. The possibility of regaining self-confidence in problem-solving skills or the possibility of almost automatically and inexpensively acquiring growing skills and knowledge is restored, along with any potential benefits from such a possibility or acquisition.

The Institute of Future Technologies in Africa will do a study on how developing technologies will affect Africa. The institution will look into the ethical, philosophical, social, organisational and business implications of these emerging technologies and to better inform the public about the possible advantages and hazards of emerging technologies so that wise decisions may be made on how to regulate or adopt them into society. With the help of Artificial intelligence, Blockchains, Augmented reality, and many other emerging technologies, for example, the institute will able to predict which careers will be in demand in the future and which jobs may become redundant. It can also examine how such changes would affect society as a whole.

This institute will advocate for the ethical and responsible use of technology in Africa.  As a result, African students may have access to cutting-edge technology and research to help tackle some of the continent’s most urgent concerns with the correct funding and facilities. It seeks to provide practical direction and a pragmatic regulatory strategy so that businesses may create technology that adheres to ethical principles and ensure the customised, equitable, and fair treatment of all citizens and consumers. This would provide them with a platform to express their culture and beliefs while keeping them on the cutting edge of technology. With the support of these new instruments, African nations can become regional innovators.

African Institute of Future Technologies (AIFT) intends to provide Africa’s next generation of leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to create their future and the future of their communities, governments, and continent through emerging technologies. By doing this, we will build a future where Africans flourish. In the future, inclusive, sustainable, and varied digital ecosystems will be the norm. Future digital ecosystems that are ethical and responsible will be varied since they shouldn’t be controlled by just one philosophy or organisation. They ought to be inclusive as well, giving everyone a chance to contribute to society in their way. Finally, these digital ecosystems must be sustainable to survive for many years into the future. We need to make sure we’re building ethical and responsible digital ecosystems that serve the collective best.

Establishing a future technology institution could be a game changer for African nations, and its potential is inspiring.

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