Can AI Help Build Peace? How African Youth are Shaping the Future

• African youth are actively using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect conflict early, counter hate speech, and strengthen community resilience.
• A recent Institute for Security Studies (ISS) policy brief positions youth as 'knowledge creators' who generate data and digital innovations, rather than passive technology users.
• Digital tools are most effective when they amplify existing human networks and face-to-face community organizing rather than replacing them.

Key Initiatives

• Ushahidi (Kenya): A platform that pioneered crowdsourced reporting during the 2007–2008 post-election violence.
• iVerify (Zambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia): A Digital Public Good that trains young journalists to identify and counter false information.
• Various youth-led projects use machine learning and open-source intelligence to monitor elections and challenge online narratives.

Barriers to Progress

• Digital Inequality: Internet access remains inconsistent, particularly in rural and conflict-affected regions, with additional obstacles for women.
• Language Gaps: Most AI systems are trained in Western languages, leading to poor performance in understanding local African contexts or identifying harmful content in local dialects.
• Infrastructure: Outdated policies and weak digital infrastructure continue to stifle youth-led potential.

Recommendations and Challenges

• Policymakers should integrate youth into the design of AI governance frameworks from the start, rather than consulting them after policies are set.
• Increased investment in digital literacy, connectivity, and ethical oversight of AI tools is necessary to prevent misuse, such as state surveillance.
• Future research must focus on the measurable long-term impact of digital peacebuilding and the sustainability of various pilot projects.
• The core of effective AI-driven peacebuilding remains people; technology must reflect local knowledge, priorities, and community trust to be successful.