Accra, Ghana – May 3, 2025 — Over 40 young Ghanaians gathered at the Osu Impact Hub for “AI for Whom? Innovation or Unemployment,” a hands-on and eye-opening workshop organized by Bilili Creative Lab in partnership with Aether Strategies. The event launched Aether’s Beyond AI monthly series, which seeks to demystify artificial intelligence, empower communities, and ensure that Africans play an active role in shaping AI policy and innovation.
The high attendance reflected the success of Bilili’s grassroots mobilization, which reached young people from universities, creative sectors, tech hubs, and worker networks across Accra and beyond.
The program invited participants to examine both the promises and perils of AI in Ghana’s context—from job transformation to data ownership and innovation.
Kelvin Prempeh, a developer and national youth leader within the Trades Union Congress, focused his remarks on how AI is transforming the world of work. He highlighted the urgent need for a just transition in labor policy—not only in response to climate change but also in response to the automation of tasks and the increasing reliance on digital tools. He urged young people to prepare for the workforce of the future while remaining vigilant about how these tools are introduced and regulated.
Erica Franklin, a sales strategist and founder of EVF Consulting, provided a broader view of how AI can support human development. She encouraged the audience to consider AI not as a threat but as a complement to everyday life—helping workers gain time for other pursuits, including family, learning, and rest. However, she also pointed to the risks of ideological bias in existing AI systems and emphasized the importance of building local solutions rooted in African data. She shared examples of Ghanaian-led AI applications in healthcare that show what is possible when the technology is grounded in local needs.
The central training session was led by Kambale Musavuli, Managing Director of Aether Strategies, who introduced participants to core AI concepts through an engaging visual presentation. He explored practical examples—from mobile money fraud detection to WhatsApp autocorrect—while explaining the differences between narrow AI, general AI, and superintelligence. He also touched on the risks of algorithmic bias, data privacy breaches, and tech colonialism, encouraging attendees to see themselves not just as users of AI, but as its future architects.
The highlight for many was the interactive workshop, where participants:
• Rewrote a mainstream article on Ghana using a local perspective and voice
• Used AI to polish and structure professional CVs
• Designed a digital flyer for a future AI event using AI-generated templates
Participants also saw a demonstration of prompt automation, where pre-designed instructions (“prompt files”) were used to generate customized outputs using AI tools—a glimpse into the emerging skill of prompt engineering.
Audience members asked critical and thoughtful questions about accessing learning resources, finding AI communities, and advocating for more inclusive and affordable events. Many expressed surprise and appreciation that the program was entirely free—an intentional decision by the organizers to make the conversation accessible to all.
The event closed with strong calls for continued engagement. Organizers confirmed that the Beyond AI series will continue monthly, with each session offering new tools, guest speakers, and opportunities to build skills and community around AI in Africa.
With energy, insight, and inclusion at its core, AI for Whom? made it clear that the future of AI in Ghana must be co-created by the people who live and work here—not decided from the outside.
