Artificial Intelligence transforms knowledge transactions, threatening to sideline and diminish African voices while reproducing current power structures. But could it also provide the opportunity to increase access, presence, and searchability of sources created by Africans as well?  Projects like HistoryGenie, which utilize AI tools to transcribe 19th-century West African newspapers rapidly, could, in theory, help communities, museums, and individuals share their history. But who would govern these archives and how?  This presentation offers an opportunity to contribute to a discussion on data sovereignty and the Africanization of AI that is emerging in African venues.

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Speaker Biography: Trevor Getz is Professor of African History at San Francisco State University and the winner of the 2026 African Studies Association Outstanding Service Award. He helped found the HistoryGenie Project with members of the OVAL Lab at Stanford, and currently serves as President of the World History Association.