Artificial Intelligence (AI) and children in Africa: A sandboxed childhood and a normative ethics point of view

Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses many opportunities for current and future generations, as well as a host of risks. Children in Africa are not spared from these risks. African culture puts children at the centre of activities, nonetheless African children frequently are victims of both natural and man-made calamities such as, inter alia, famine and human trafficking, respectively. Now AI brings new threats to this vulnerable population. As countries struggle with formulation of appropriate governance frameworks they resort to the creation of regulatory sandboxes. However, regulatory sandboxes do not necessarily assure safe AI for children in particular and humans in general. African children are exposed to AI technology in these experimental and imperfect regulatory environments thereby exposing the children to unknown risks, and in fact making African children part of the testbed for AI technologies, such that they experience a technological 'sandboxed' childhood. I review literature to establish these risks, and efforts being made to protect the children in Africa. Using the UNICEF's policy guidance on AI for children's recommendations and a normative ethics point of view, I attempt to make a case for value sensitive design of AI that will preserve the African culture through children as the future by protecting them from harmful effects of AI. Eminent among the normative ethics is Ubuntu which I discuss to demonstrate how Africa could employ it for cultural identity and preservation.