About Ubuntu-AI
We are a group of African and US researchers developing AI for more democratic, equitable, and sustainable futures.
Those who refuse to work with AI are in danger of being excluded. But if we beg for inclusion, we are in danger of exploitation. This is the AI Double Bind. The only way to break the double bind is by developing AI that is owned and controlled by those generating the data it uses, and can advance a bottom-up, grassroots, regenerative economy.
Thus we developed this platform in which African creatives—artists, makers, designers and others—can experiment with forms of AI development and applications they own and govern. The OpenAI Foundation has generously provided the first round of funding. Results so far:
- We distributed funding equally among all 400 participants: payment for their work in uploading photos and filling out surveys. They retain rights to all their data.
- Our initial idea - that the group might want to collectively sell their data to AI companies - did not gain much support. Artisans said they were more concerned about theft of their ideas and designs, so we did not pursue it. Artisans can still be individually contacted on the platform to purchase their products, and we left in facilitation so that they can make their own data negotiations if they so desire.
- Artisans did say they were interested in using an AI app they owned, under their own control. So we developed UPCY, an app for assisting the artisans' upcycling of waste materials into products.
- Additional projects are under way examining other AI and digital technology applications. Of particular interest is the idea of overseas collaborations, so that the same design could be fabricated in parallel in the US and Africa, eliminating shipping costs and maximizing returns to local fabricators. We have recently launched our first collaboration, Afrobotics.
- Finally, the platform also facilitates commentary and conversations among the participants, which will aid in exploring how AI tools might be developed in ways that bring together economic equity, democratic consensus, and community-based collaborations.