Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous Knowledge on Arms Control in Kenya : Critical Intersections

Artificial intelligence (AI) and small arms are interlinked in profound ways. As an enabling technology, AI enhances the precision and detection of enemy targets and other weapon system capabilities. The intersection between AI and indigenous arms control mechanisms, however, remains underexplored, particularly within the Kenyan pastoralist context. Whereas diverse arms control initiatives exist in Kenya, among them arms marking, forceful and non-forceful disarmament, promotion of economic empowerment initiatives, and communal peace declarations such as the 2001 Modagashe Declaration, little is known about the harm, risks, and challenges that Western-centric AI systems pose to African indigenous knowledge and practices on arms control in these regions. Using a decolonial critical theoretical approach, this study sought to locate the intersection between AI and indigenous knowledge on arms control, with particular focus on the Modagashe Declaration and its core features, including consensus-based dialogue, elder-mediated sanctions, differential blood compensation, and firearm restrictions in grazing zones. It adopted a qualitative research approach in which data were drawn from twelve (12) subject-matter-expert interviews, nine (9) online surveys, and document/content analysis. Findings showed that the current AI systems predominantly reproduce Western epistemologies and exclude local concepts, languages, and oral governance traditions. The study thus recommends an ethical and decolonization agenda for AI systems in Kenya in the form of systematic incorporation of indigenous concepts and methods, especially those emanating from the Modagashe Declaration, into the training datasets and algorithm design, among other strategies that will strengthen rather than erode indigenous epistemologies on arms control.