Africa Has A Moral Voice In AI, Says Telkom CEO, Championing Continent As Co-Creator, Not Consumer

HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a keynote that reframed Africa’s position in the global tech space, Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong declared that the continent holds a crucial ethical compass for the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Speaking at the opening of the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) 2025, which Telkom is hosting, Taukobong argued that Africa’s unique cultural richness and principle of Ubuntu must guide the future of intelligent systems.

Taukobong’s address, delivered without the 25-page presentation prepared for him, struck a resonant chord with industry leaders, policymakers, and academics gathered under the theme “Africa’s Ascent: Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future.”

He positioned the current AI revolution as a historic moment of parity, where Africa is not playing catch-up but starting alongside the rest of the world.

“For the first time in modern history, Africa is standing at the starting point and the starting line of technological evolution at the same moment as the rest of the world,” Taukobong said. “In the age of intelligent systems, Africa is not behind. We are alongside.”

He swiftly moved beyond infrastructure discussions to assert a deeper truth: “AI is not about technology. AI is about people, how we empower them, how we uplift them, and how we ensure that Africans are not consumers of the future, but co-creators of it.”

Central to his argument was the imperative to include Africa’s vast linguistic and cultural diversity in AI systems.

“For decades, African languages were invisible to technology, ignored in databases, and absent in models,” he stated. “But no civilization can thrive if its languages are silent in the systems of the future.”

It was in confronting the global ethical dilemmas of AI—safety, fairness, privacy—that Taukobong issued a defining proclamation: “Africa has a moral voice in AI.”

“Well, Africa has a powerful role to play in here. Because ethics is not new to us. Ubuntu is ingrained in who we are,” he asserted, framing the continent’s philosophical heritage as a critical contribution to global tech governance.

Throughout his speech, Taukobong wove in the role of Telkom, not just as a conference host or network provider, but as a foundational force in the continent’s progress.

“Telkom has always been more than a telecommunications company,” he said.

“We are an enabler of connection, of progress, of possibility. Our networks carry more than data. We carry dreams. Our infrastructure does more than enable business. It enables nations.”

Calling on the innovators in the room, he emphasised that the future is being built by those who refuse to be left behind.

“To the researchers, students, and innovators in this room, the future is not being built in Silicon Valley. It is being built wherever people refuse to be left behind. It is being built right here.”

Concluding with a vision of continental ascent, Taukobong left the audience with a potent refrain: “When Africa connects, Africa competes. When Africa competes, Africa creates. But when Africa creates, humanity rises.”

SATNAC 2025 continues through 3 December in Hermanus, serving as a platform to translate this vision into the research, partnerships, and next-generation infrastructure that will fuel Africa’s sustainable digital ascent.