The Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) has convened a pivotal national dialogue on the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and biodigital technologies, warning that without inclusive governance, Zambia could once again find itself exploited as a raw material and data supplier in the global digital economy.
The public meeting, held in Lusaka, brought together farmers, academics, civil society leaders, traditional authorities, and government representatives to examine AI’s social, ecological, and economic consequences for Zambia’s people and environment—moving beyond the hype to confront the realities of algorithmic power and resource extraction.
Demystifying AI and exposing systemic bias
Kicking off the discussion, Jim Thomas, AI and Market Power Fellow at the European Artificial Intelligence & Society Fund, challenged the perception of AI as a sentient or autonomous system.
“AI is not intelligence—it’s predictive computation built on massive data extraction,” Thomas said, describing today’s dominant AI models as “massive looting models” that thrive on unconsented data collection.
He cautioned that these systems replicate the biases of the Internet’s dominant cultures, amplifying existing gender, racial, and geopolitical inequalities. “The contextual bias online gets reproduced,” he warned, stressing that unchecked algorithmic systems risk hardcoding discrimination and misinformation into society.
The new digital scramble for Africa
Thomas and other speakers linked AI’s data hunger to a renewed global race for African resources, dubbing it a “digital scramble for Africa.”
Zambia’s copper reserves, water resources, and biodiversity are central to this scramble, as the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for energy, minerals, and data infrastructure expands.
Esther Mwema, a digital inequalities expert and Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, drew stark historical parallels between colonial trade routes and modern Internet infrastructure.
“The paths of undersea data cables—owned by Meta, Google, and others—mirror the routes of colonial exploitation,” she noted. “Once again, Africa’s resources fuel global progress without equitable return.”
Environmental and energy strain
Experts at the forum warned of AI’s immense ecological footprint, noting that a single hyperscale data centre can consume over 5 gigawatts of power—surpassing Zambia’s total national capacity of 3.7 GW—and millions of litres of water daily for cooling.
This, they said, could deepen climate vulnerabilities, drain public infrastructure, and heighten extractive pressures through mineral-intensive data centre construction and copper mining linked to the global AI and green tech boom.
AI in agriculture: empowerment or data colonialism?
A key focus of discussion was the growing presence of AI-driven digital agriculture platforms that promise efficiency but could instead displace agroecological knowledge and entrench corporate control over farmers’ data and inputs.
Participants expressed concern that AI-based tools, often designed abroad, risk turning Zambian farmers into data suppliers rather than decision-makers.
There were also warnings about the emergence of generative AI models in biological design, capable of creating new genetic material. Experts highlighted biosafety and bioethics risks, including potential biopiracy of Zambian genetic resources if safeguards are not established.
Call for inclusive policy and digital sovereignty
By the meeting’s conclusion, participants agreed that technology is advancing faster than regulation, leaving Zambia vulnerable to digital exploitation.
The forum called for a national framework covering:
- Data governance and digital rights
- Biosafety and bioethics protections
- Community participation in AI policymaking
- Sovereignty over genetic and digital resources
ZAAB urged that Zambia’s approach to AI must be bottom-up and people-centred, rooted in agroecology and environmental justice.
“Protecting our interests will require a critical and informed approach,” organisers concluded. “Communities must have a decisive voice in shaping the technological future of the country.”
The meeting marks a turning point in Zambia’s engagement with AI—one that calls not for passive adoption, but for digital self-determination grounded in justice, sustainability, and the protection of local knowledge systems.
