Ethics as a Prerequisite: Navigating Plagiarism and Data Sovereignty in AI-Assisted Research in Kenya
Record type:
policy
Creator:
AgwNamEte
Publisher:
Int
Host:
As Kenya solidifies its role as Africa’s premier technology hub, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into
its academic research ecosystem presents a dual-front ethical challenge. This paper examines the critical intersection of
Authorship Integrity and Data Sovereignty. While AI tools offer unprecedented acceleration in data processing, they also
facilitate nuanced forms of "algorithmic plagiarism" and raise significant concerns regarding the extraction of local
indigenous knowledge by global models. By analyzing the Kenya National AI Strategy 2025–2030 and recent institutional
policy shifts, this study argues that ethics must be treated as a prerequisite rather than an afterthought. The paper concludes
with a proposed framework for "Sovereign AI Ethics" tailored to the Kenyan context.
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