Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices

The integration of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the production of knowledge in African Studies, offering new opportunities for innovative analysis, dynamic visualisation and cross-cultural research. This shift has the potential to reimagine cultural heritage, widen access to diverse narratives, and amplify marginalised voices. However, it also raises urgent questions regarding equitable access, the representation of African languages, and the suitability of methodologies. In order to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and influence the future of the field, a targeted scoping exercise is crucial.

The workshop, “Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices”, will address these developments. While recent initiatives on digital sovereignty in Africa have centred on policy, regulation, and digital rights, this workshop shifts attention to methodological practice. It asks how DH methods and AI transform research in African Studies, and how we can design, evaluate, and sustain these methods under African conditions. We move from governance about AI to practice with AI. Researchers across the continent already prototype multilingual, multimodal, and community-responsive workflows that change how we study African languages, texts, material culture, and place. To address these transformations systematically, our discussions are organised around three interconnected thematic axes that capture both technical innovations and epistemic shifts.

Transforming Research Methods through AI and Digital Tools in African Studies: This axis asks a fundamental question: how are AI and DH methods changing the study of African cultures, languages, and histories? Participants will present concrete uses of AI to analyse multilingual texts, employ computer vision to study visual culture and historical artefacts, and develop digital mapping to trace cultural movements and connections. We will evaluate what works for different kinds of African cultural materials, identify adaptations required for local contexts, and specify where computational approaches can complement—rather than replace—interpretive scholarship. The goal is clear: practical guidance for integrating these methods while preserving the interpretive richness that defines the humanities.

Building Sustainable Research Infrastructures from African Perspectives: Moving beyond policy discourse, this axis asks what it takes to build and sustain digital research capacity within African institutions and communities. We will examine practical obstacles—limited connectivity, unstable funding, and scarce training data for local languages—and showcase South–South collaboration models that have navigated these constraints. Participants will share strategies for developing tools that utilise available resources rather than assuming high-end infrastructure. Key questions include how to keep research outputs accessible to the communities being studied, how to train the next generation of African DH scholars, and how to secure sustainable funding that does not depend solely on institutions in the Global North. The focus is on concrete, scalable approaches to durable capacity.

Centring African Knowledge Systems in Digital Research Design: This axis poses a methodological challenge: how can digital research tools respect and incorporate African ways of knowing? Rather than retrofitting existing techniques to African materials, we explore how African epistemologies can shape the tools themselves. Case studies will show community knowledge informing database structures, oral traditions testing text-centred analytical frameworks, and local classification systems improving standard metadata schemas. We will consider protocols for culturally sensitive materials, interface design that does not privilege European languages, and criteria to ensure that AI systems trained on African data primarily serve African research needs. Here, decolonisation moves from critique to construction.