A TechCabal feature asked eight Africans across five groups whether artificial intelligence could become a threat to humanity, including the possibility of killing humans, and recorded a mix of scepticism and concern about misuse of the technology, rather than imminent existential risk.
The TechCabal piece referenced recent warnings from figures in the AI industry, including a report that Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, resigned and warned that companies were racing toward self-improving systems and were “gambling with our lives.” The article also quoted OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki saying “no one is prepared for the consequences of a continued rapid rise in machine intelligence.” These observations were presented as part of the wider debate on AI’s risks.
On the ground in West Africa, views were more practical. Sarah Pra, a restaurant owner in Kumasi, Ghana, told TechCabal she did not find warnings that AI would kill people convincing. “Which AI is going to kill us exactly? Is it ChatGPT or Meta AI?” she asked. Pra described using Meta AI and ChatGPT routinely: she consults the tools for cooking tips, uses ChatGPT to help design flyers for her restaurant, and consults Meta AI and ChatGPT on personal questions. She added, “ChatGPT can lie,” and said she takes what is useful from AI responses and discards the rest.
Pra worried less that AI itself would become homicidal and more that people could use it to harm others. She said she had seen AI used to create fake nude images of women and to spread false information, and argued that such abuses were problems with users rather than proof that AI systems were independently dangerous.
Similarly, Elijah Akuma, a master’s student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, told TechCabal he did not believe AI would kill humanity. “AI was made by man; every good product has its deficiencies too,” he said. Akuma uses AI to test ideas, critique drafts and suggest improvements. “AI doesn’t think for me,” he said. “It makes suggestions, and I consider them and pick which is relevant to what I’m working on.” He described the relationship as collaborative: “We are more like a team.”
Akuma expressed a different worry: overdependence. He cited a 2026 study by Patience Ebekeyi Bakre and Fa’iza Tukur-Bello, published in Discover Education, which surveyed 535 students across eight Nigerian tertiary institutions and found students used AI tools including ChatGPT, Grammarly and Gemini for coding, writing essays, finding materials and summarising information. Akuma said the reliance of some students on AI had reduced their engagement with problems and their independent thinking. He also said he would not use AI to diagnose or prescribe treatment, or to seek marital advice.
TechCabal reported that Africans are already using AI in businesses and daily life, while local innovators build with the tools and investors put money into the industry. The piece framed these everyday interactions alongside broader warnings from researchers and industry insiders.
Read the full TechCabal feature here: https://techcabal.com/2026/09/24/could-ai-threaten-humanity-8-africans-weigh-the-risks.
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