As an AI application enthusiast with limited technical background but deep cultural knowledge, a phenomenon I have seen first-hand is when types of artificial intelligence or large language models (LLMs) fail spectacularly upon encountering African contexts.
AI remains deficient when it comes to many non-western cultures, but current LLMs such as Claude, Gemini, Chat GPT and Deep Seek fall particularly short when it comes to drawing from diverse African experiences, local nuance and specific cultural context. Training data is often absent, and even if there are decent references, the cultural framework is often weak.
I am under no illusion that co-ordinating cultural knowledge across 54 countries and more than 2,000 languages is difficult, but we don't need perfection. What we need is momentum through networks where each nation builds its own cultural AI foundation while sharing methodologies and learning across borders.
As of now, the results AI shows are frequently biased, stereotypical and generic. I recently asked for specific information about Kenya, and I received responses regarding a “Harambee framework” (the concept of working together) and how Kenyan business culture is about “Ubuntu” (an operating system). This is either not correct, or depending on the context, lacks nuance and adequate explanation.
Given my own local knowledge, I can point out gaps and direct the LLM for a better response. When I asked Claude AI to critique its own cultural knowledge and training about Kenya, it responded by saying: “I could translate words but miss the cultural weight behind code-switching. I lack understanding of regional language variations and their social significance. The cultural intelligence you're building can't come from language data sets alone – it needs the lived experience of when, how and why people communicate in different languages. AI systems (including me) have superficial language knowledge without cultural depth.”
The honesty was refreshing!
But what if this weakness could become Africa's greatest AI opportunity? Talented African storytellers have an opportunity to apply deep local cultural knowledge to existing tools, or develop new applications in local language that solve problems. This also gives us narrative ownership through AI from which we can create authentic African perspectives.
I recently developed a “covering Africa” prompt for journalists to use as a smart sounding board that flags stereotypical stories about the continent. I applied 20 years of journalism experience, combined with cultural and detailed local knowledge about the continent and the way we Africans, in all our diversity, see ourselves.
The continent has transformed but stories about the African people often follow the same tedious beat. But a sensitive and culturally aware prompt offered a useful storytelling solution.
Although Africa may not have fully competitive engineering skills or large-scale investment, it has cultural depth, and when applied locally, that can be its superpower.
Here's just one example to illustrate how this can be leveraged. At The Rundown Studio, a cloud-based platform, we have developed a newsroom co-pilot that can work very well in African news operations and markets. Using the highest international editorial standards and approaches, we can empower all newsrooms in Africa and other emerging markets with world-class editorial, verification and on-air systems. This demonstrates how deep local knowledge can be applied alongside LLMs.
It is not just about working with tools though. African cultural knowledge must become the training ground for next-generation AI systems. Instead of merely fixing western models, our leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators must position Africa as the laboratory for the culturally intelligent AI that the world needs. This takes us from seeing Africa as merely a market for AI products to Africa as the architect of AI that understands humanity's full cultural spectrum.
This should start by national AI cultural councils being created in each country. Funded through public-private partnerships, here storytellers, linguists and technologists could collaborate to build comprehensive cultural datasets that become the foundation for training truly inclusive AI models.
One practical application is that every country should develop its own national prompt; their own quintessential presentation of their nation to the world, that influences a person’s perception or narratives when LLMs are queried.
I am working on a collaborative process for Kenya to create its own prompt that would be our north star. It will contain critical components that capture a diverse nation and peoples through a cultural lens. Oral culture, local nuances, languages and various contexts can be crafted with hyper local knowledge and lived experiences.
There are a lot of people and organisations already doing great work. We are not trying to build one monolithic system for Africa; what we should aim to do is create a decentralised framework where local groups operate independently but share open-source tools and governance principles. This allows organic growth rather than top-down co-ordination.
African talent needs access to AI tools, but subscription costs and data barriers remain prohibitive. We need funded programmes that democratise this technology while building cultural knowledge ecosystems.
This would allow us to create volume and put guardrails in place to either enhance existing western and Chinese LLMs or provide the data to our own language models. At the core is our own economic transformation through jobs and investment rooted in what we know best. If Africa captures 10 per cent of global AI adoption, AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to the continent’s economy by 2031, driving GDP growth from 5.2 per cent in 2025 to 8.5 per cent by 2030.
For Africa, the solutions lie in our authenticity, languages and lived experiences. We can become the template for culturally intelligent AI that the world desperately needs.
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
More on Quran memorisation:
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EGYPT SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem "Genesh"
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh
Midfielders: Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad
Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed "Kouka" Hassan.
Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
