As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the global creative industry, African creators said that without proper regulation and cultural safeguards, the continent risks losing control over its artistic identity and billions in potential royalties. This warning echoed powerfully during an X Space discussion hosted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth and Arts on Wednesday, July 6. The virtual forum convened artists, policymakers, and advocates from across Africa to explore how AI is influencing creativity, intellectual property rights, and cultural ownership in an increasingly digital world. According to a 2024 comprehensive study shared by International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) Africa Regional Director Samuel Sangwa indicates that AI-generated music now commands a €16 billion (Rwf 26.8 trillion) market, most of it coming from commercial uses like background music, advertisements, and streaming content. But as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, human creators are losing out. By 2028, CISAC projects that creators could collectively forfeit €12 billion in royalties in the music industry alone. “AI is displacing jobs that would have otherwise gone to human creators. From Nollywood to advertising, AI is being used to write scripts and generate visuals. Production costs may be falling, but so are protections for creators whose work is being fed into these tools without consent,” said Sangwa. “AI should not be a tool for extracting value from African creators without giving anything back.” While the European Union (EU) has moved swiftly to enforce transparency and copyright protection in AI systems through its updated directives, Sangwa argues that the continent needs similar coordination, urgently. “This is an economic issue as much as it is a creative one. At the end of the day, you are depriving the creator of an economic revenue which ends up being captured by AI services. AI is not creating from scratch it is remixing existing human creativity.” Nigerian filmmaker Kenneth Gyang, known for Oloture and Blood Sisters, echoed the alarm, citing the cultural disconnection AI introduces to African storytelling. “What we are seeing in African film, especially in Nigeria, is a disconnection from cultural perspectives. AI tools often reflect Western aesthetics because they were not trained using African datasets. So instead of amplifying our narratives, we risk reproducing Westernized imagery under the guise of innovation,” said Gyang. “While AI is useful in pre-production stages like storyboarding and design, the cost is often the dilution of authenticity. African governments should invest in culturally representative datasets and enhance institutions like Nigeria’s Electronic Business Rights Systems (EBRS) to protect local creators.” We do have IP laws, but they now need to incorporate the reality on the ground of how all these digital tools are affecting the way we create. We’ve made enforcement mistakes in the past, we must not repeat them, said Gyang. Sandrine Umutoni, Rwanda’s State Minister of Youth and Arts has called for urgent action to protect African creators in the wake of AI developments, warning that the transformative power of AI, that presents a real threat to cultural ownership, intellectual property, and fair compensation for African creatives. “AI is a powerful and transformative force, with potential to disrupt and elevate industries across the board including the creative sector. But if harnessed wisely, AI can lower production costs, streamline creative workflows, and importantly, democratize access to high-quality tools for creators,” said Umutoni. However, she cautioned, this promise can only be realized through appropriate and inclusive policy frameworks. “It is critical that we protect the economic rights and intellectual property of our creators. Without this, AI becomes a threat, not an opportunity,” she said. The Minister pointed to the landmark Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, signed in Kigali in April 2025 by all 55 African Union member states, as a significant policy milestone. This continental commitment, she said, sets out a vision for ethical, inclusive, and sustainable AI development. “Many artists in Rwanda and across the continent are using these tools, but they don’t have the legal safeguards or even the basic understanding of how their work might be at risk. Education is key. We need to raise awareness among our creatives about intellectual property laws, so they know how to protect and defend their work, she said. “The creative economy must not only survive the AI wave but we must ensure our young people enter this new era not with fear, but with the tools, knowledge, and legal protection to thrive,” said Umutoni. “There are serious concerns around the use of African creative works without permission or fair compensation. If a generative AI tool is trained on or inspired by an African artist’s work, the question remains: is that artist even aware? Are they being compensated? Do they retain any ownership over the derivative outputs?” “There is no doubt that AI can deliver a lot of benefits in terms of innovation and productivity. But it can also be a double-edged sword, especially for creators whose livelihoods depend on the originality of their work,” said Sangwa.
