You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas and conversations to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Ubuntu is a foundational philosophy rooted in South Africa, but practiced widely across the African continent

that emphasizes interconnectedness, community, and the collective well-being of society

as the basis for our moral compass. But what does this philosophical practice have to do with

artificial intelligence? In this talk, tech policy visionary Nangira Sambuli uses the principles of Ubuntu

to imagine a world where AI can be both ethical and inclusive.

What can the African savanna teach us about AI? Take this journey with me.

Across Africa,

Proverbs are a cornerstone of the oral tradition

through which indigenous knowledge and wisdom

has been passed down from generation to generation.

The Yoruba people of Nigeria say that a proverb is the horse that can carry one swiftly to the discovery of ideas.

One of my favorite proverbs says, when elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers.

And it has guided me in making sense of much in the world today, especially with all the developments in AI.

The elephants can symbolize great powers,

be they nation-states, corporations, broiligarchies,

while the grass comprises people, geographies and ecologies considered resources to exploit,

wastelands, or charity cases. Great power competition, as we're living through today,

emphasizes the power of the metaphorical elephants in the quest for dominance over resources,

ideas, and innovations.

In the case of Africa, not only are we caught in the middle,

but we comprise a key battleground over which elephants are fighting

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