LISTEN: Why Western AI doesn’t fit African classrooms, and what needs to change

Amy MacIver, in for CapeTalk’s Sara-Jayne Makwala King, is joined on Weekend Breakfast by Dr Nyx McLean, Head of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Eduvos.

Listen to their conversation below.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing education across Africa, but one expert warns that the technology often lacks local relevance. 

McLean recently penned an article titled Beyond the Hype: Why Africa Must Lead Its Own AI Education Revolution.

She stresses that while AI tools like ChatGPT are exciting, their Western origins risk excluding African perspectives.

"I'm in Africa, I'm in South Africa, I'm in higher education...I'm not seeing my reality reflected back to me. So what does that mean for a student? So an ethics of care really is about asking those questions around power, and asking for reflexivity. So, thinking about why do we use things in the way that we do?"

- Dr Nyx McLean, Head of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Eduvos

McLean argues that Africa must lead its own AI journey by asking the right questions. 

"...whose data are we using...? Whose voice is present here? And whose voice is missing here? And what do we need to do to shift that? So it's a long journey. But I do think when we start asking those questions, and we enter into reflexive dialogue around it. So, you know, why are we using this technology? Who else should be here with us? Who should be involved in development? We start to shift things."

- Dr Nyx McLean, Head of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Eduvos

While AI is already being used by students and teachers for writing, content creation, and assessment, McLean says the focus should be on making these tools work for local needs. 

"But what we are challenging there is that we've got to think about the kind of content...I want to often talk about personalised learning analytics, which is one of the most exciting spaces for AI. But we can't yet go there until we get technology right. Because... we may accept that a student may be struggling. But the analytics, the tools that we use need to be contextualised in order to really do justice to the student."

- Dr Nyx McLean, Head of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Eduvos

McLean also raised concerns about unequal access to information, especially in schools facing digital divides.

She is calling for more education about AI for teachers at all levels.

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