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At SATNAC 2025 in Cape Town, Amdocs executive Idit Duvdevany Aronsohn delivered a pointed warning to industry leaders: the future of artificial intelligence is being shaped now, and Africa must be at the center of it.<\/p>\n
Aronsohn, Head of ESG and People Relations at Amdocs, framed her keynote around a defining question: \u201cCan AI be inclusive without Africa or without African data?\u201d Her answer to the continent\u2019s technologists, innovators, and policymakers was direct. \u201cAbsolutely no,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aronsohn argued that AI is already influencing major decisions across industries, including who is hired, promoted, or left behind. \u201cAI has already decided what\u2019s going to be the future of this room, of our industry,\u201d she said. \u201cIn some places it already happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
She dismantled the idea of AI as a neutral technology, noting that systems reflect the rules and datasets created by people. \u201cAI by itself doesn\u2019t make mistakes. It also doesn\u2019t drive an agenda. AI simply follows rules that were made by people\u2026 and it follows data.\u201d<\/p>\n
That reality, she said, creates both risk and opportunity. If AI is trained on historical datasets shaped by exclusion, it will reproduce and intensify inequity. \u201cIf the data is from the past, and the past was unfair and biased\u2026 then when AI perpetuates the past, the question is, how can we build a future without us?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aronsohn introduced a framework describing three personas in the AI ecosystem: the Creators, the Influencers, and the Consumers. She highlighted the underrepresentation of women, African voices, and African languages across all three groups. \u201cHouston, we have a problem,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough Africa-based talent influencing and creating AI solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
She used the example of early smartphone cameras failing left-handed users to illustrate what happens when technologies are built without diverse creators. \u201cYou get some of the pictures being upside down\u2026 This is what happens to us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aronsohn warned that exclusion becomes self-reinforcing: biased systems fail to serve certain communities, leading to lower adoption rates, which in turn creates less representative data. She also pointed to the global gender gap in AI adoption, noting that women use AI tools significantly less than men.<\/p>\n
Still, her message was ultimately one of action and possibility. \u201cInstead of diversity being the AI-created problem\u2026 maybe it could be the path to solution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She urged the industry to shift from fear and distrust of AI toward intentional adoption, driven by inclusive design. She called for investment in Africa-centered ethical AI development, improved recruitment practices, and large-scale re-skilling programs to ensure communities become active participants in shaping AI.<\/p>\n
Telecom operators, she said, play a crucial role. \u201cThey\u2019re not just carriers of data. They\u2019re gatekeepers for digital equality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aronsohn highlighted the \u201cYes We Gen\u201d initiative, an Amdocs program aimed at introducing middle and high school girls to coding and AI using a free, multilingual toolkit. She encouraged leaders to implement it widely. \u201cThis is one of the ways to do it\u2026 making sure that we\u2019re driving the young forces into adopting AI, changing AI.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ended with a call to leadership and responsibility. \u201cAI is a mirror. It\u2019s a reflection of who we are,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t blame AI for anything. We just need to make sure that we\u2019re doing it right in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Africa, she added, does not need to \u201ccatch up\u201d to global innovation. \u201cIt can leap ahead. If inclusion is designed from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quoting Telkom CEO Serame Taukobong, she said, \u201cThe future is being built where people refuse to stay behind\u2026 The future of diversity is not written yet. But one thing is certain, AI is not the author. We are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her message closed with a clear charge: Africa\u2019s data, talent, and ethical frameworks must be at the foundation of the AI age, not an afterthought.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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