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Application of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems to AI Ethics Research and Education: A Conceptual Overview

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

June 26, 2024

Conference Session

The Global and Cultural Dimensions of Engineering Ethics Education

Tagged Division

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--46585

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/46585

Download Count

64

Paper Authors

biography

Kerrie Danielle Hooper Florida International University

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Kerrie Hooper is currently an Engineering and Computing Education Ph.D. student at Florida International University. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Guyana in 2019 and then worked for two years in the industry as a Data Analyst & Systems Administrator, before pursuing her doctoral degree. Her research interests are in AI ethics, responsible technology in education, women’s careers in computing, and arts-based approach to STEM education.

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Ivan Oyege Florida International University

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Abstract

African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) holds an epistemology that is different from that of the Western world with massive potential to add substantial value in various fields of applied ethics. One of the dominant fields of applied ethics studied today is artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. With the ever-evolving innovations associated with AI especially at the global scale, the AI ethics field continues to grow and develop with implications that are far-reaching. This implies that people of multiple cultural backgrounds are potentially impacted. Particularly, there has been an underrepresentation of non-Western ideologies in literature. Additionally, scholars expressed the need for alternative methods for studying and improving AI ethics research and education. Therefore, from a theoretical standpoint, how can African IKS be applied to AI ethics education and research community? Based on a 2019 publication by African scholars in the International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE), the authors highlight seven sub-theories of African IKS. The sub-theories are communalism, functionalism, holisticism, preparedness, perennialism, vitalism, and indigenous standpoint theory (relative to Africans). In this paper, each of those theories and relevant applications to current AI ethics education and research practices, are discussed. The conceptual descriptions help to communicate the value of utilizing African IKS when practicing and researching AI ethics. One of the key implications of this paper is to highlight the excellent work done by African scholars and support African representation in Western literature. Another is also to highlight alternative theoretical foundations that can be used and included when conducting AI ethics research.

Hooper, K. D., & Oyege, I. (2024, June), Application of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems to AI Ethics Research and Education: A Conceptual Overview Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46585

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