As artificial intelligence systems increasingly mediate public services, political communication, and policy decision-making across Africa, they are reshaping how democratic authority is produced, exercised, and contested. This paper examines how AI-enabled technologies are reconfiguring relationships between states, citizens, and political institutions, with a particular focus on participation, legitimacy, and power. Drawing on comparative qualitative analysis across six African countries and over 120 policy documents, interviews, and participatory forums conducted between 2022 and 2025, the study analyses AI deployment in digital governance, social protection, and civic engagement platforms. Findings show that while AI systems have expanded administrative reach and efficiency, reducing service delivery delays by up to 30 percent in selected cases, they have also introduced new asymmetries in transparency, accountability, and citizen influence. Participatory mechanisms linked to digital governance initiatives increased reported civic engagement by approximately 25 percent among youth and urban populations, yet meaningful decision-making authority often remained centralized within state or private technical actors. The paper argues that democratic authority in Africa’s AI age is increasingly hybrid, produced through the interaction of technological infrastructures, political institutions, and participatory practices. It concludes by outlining design principles for participatory and accountable AI governance that strengthen democratic legitimacy rather than undermine it, contributing to broader debates on technology, political power, and democratic futures in the Global South.

Authors:
Lilian Mbuthi, Stanford University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Lilian Njeri Mbuthi, Youth Partnerships & Administration Officer at Transform Health Coalition, interested in digital health policy, decolonial governance, and feminist leadership; currently developing Ubuntu-based participatory governance models.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilian-n-mbuthi-b1704b216

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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