Projects & pilots

East London Community members x AAOO Pilot

Yet to start

In progress

East London Community members x AAOO Pilot

Completed

June – September 2024

AAOO’s first pilot case in South Africa involves East London Community members including Community knowledge elders, traditional herbalists (AmaXwele), Vendors, youths, general members of the community who use the herbs, ethnographers, ethnobotanists, Shweshwe designers, and the academic community members.

Expected Outcomes:

1. Rich and clean datasets on:
  Xhosa plant based indigenous knowledge systems.
  Shweshwe traditional dressing
  History of Slavery from the affected communities (Pending).
2.Lightweight AI based chatbot on plant based indigenous knowledge systems, Shweshwe traditional dressing.

Cambodian Smot Chanting Pilot

Yet to start

Starting soon

Cambodian Smot Chanting Pilot

Yet to start

In progress

Starting soon

AAOO Manifesto

Completed

November 2024 – March 2025

AAOO Manifesto

Completed

Nov 2024-Mar 2025

AAOO convened a working group of seven diverse individuals from Africa and Asia with a wide range of backgrounds, to create the initial draft of the Manifesto, a document meant to stand both as an advocacy document and a guide. The Manifesto articulates a value-based methodology for centering communities in the process of building gen AI. It was launched officially at the Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi in April 2025.

To read the document, please click here.

Working Group Profiles:

Arthur Gwaga – Philosopher of Emerging Technologies & Legal Research Scholar

Malik Afegbua – Film Director, Creative Technologist, Storyteller

Talal Rahwan – Associate Professor of Computer Science at New York University Abu Dhabi

Tanya Dutt – Arts & Culture Manager, Researcher

Sameer Raina – CEO, Digital Divide Data

Bobina Zulfa – Researcher-Data, Digital rights at Pollicy

Yasir Zaki – Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Landscape Researching and Mapping

Completed

June – September 2024

Landscape Researching and Mapping

Completed

June – September 2024

AAOO commissioned a research project to explore the landscape of digital heritage initiatives especially in connection with AI in Africa and Asia. The research identified 110 projects and 98 individuals, and explored how and why cultural heritage projects integrate technology, what leading voices in the field were saying and why, and what current initiatives there are focused on community-driven and ethical AI, particularly with a global south focus.

The report was released internally in March 2025 and is now available to the public here.

Research Team:

Gillian Rhodes – Research Lead

Hamd Akmal – Intern/Research Assistant

Minahil Shahid – Intern/Research Assistant