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While AI can lower production costs and improve competitiveness for smaller creative teams, industry executives say long-term success would still depend on intellectual property ownership, business capability, community and stronger institutions. FORBES AFRICA speaks to several industry experts to assess the role of AI in art.
Google and British-Sierra Leonean-Ghanaian actor Idris Elba’s Elba Hope Foundation will provide free access to the technology group’s flagship Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) assistant and other digital products to about 100,000 creators across Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone, in a program valued at roughly $1 million, according to Google Senior Vice President for Research and Technology James Manyika.
Industry executives say the program could improve productivity for creators ranging from filmmakers and musicians to designers and digital entrepreneurs, while cautioning that AI alone will not address deeper challenges around intellectual property ownership, monetization and business development.
Shola Bamidele, CEO and Creative Director of Lagos-based creative hub Loom Rooms, describes the investment as one of the most significant commitments to Africa’s creative industries in recent years because it provides access to “world-class infrastructure”.
Drawing on the company’s experience working with brands and creators, Bamidele says AI is already accelerating research, idea generation, editing and visual production while shortening the time between concept and execution.
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Those efficiencies, he argues, allow creatives to focus on storytelling, strategy and original thinking.
“The bigger conversation is about longevity,” Bamidele says to FORBES AFRICA, arguing that Africa’s creative economy must build sustainable businesses rather than simply produce more content.
Anderson Obiagwu, Founder of African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) and music festival, says to FORBES AFRICA broader access to AI tools could enable African creators to produce internationally competitive work while preserving the authenticity of African storytelling.
He says the initiative could help creators expand their global reach as the continent’s entertainment industry attracts wider international audiences.
Michael Awosanya, Founder and Executive Producer of Afro Plus Fest, tells FORBES AFRICA access to AI represents “the first mile”.
“The real test is whether we pair them with distribution, ownership and fair monetization so creators keep the value they generate,” he says, adding that stronger commercial ecosystems would determine whether creators fully benefit from technological advances.
Laurie M. Ndecontee Taylor, a professor of dance at the University of Texas at Arlington and Founder of Soul Movement Global (SMG Group), says expanding AI access represents an investment in Africa’s wider cultural ecosystem rather than technology alone.
Taylor, who is researching the role of the arts in Liberia, says African creators have long possessed the talent needed to compete internationally but often lacked equal access to tools, professional networks and production resources.
She tells FORBES AFRICA the initiative could reduce barriers to production and increase global visibility, provided it also strengthens local creative ecosystems and protects cultural identity.
Liberian recording artiste Prezoh says affordable access to AI could help African creators reduce production costs, improve marketing, develop visuals and bring ideas to market more efficiently without sacrificing the cultural identity that distinguishes African creative work.
“Our rhythm, language, struggle, beauty, and identity cannot be duplicated by technology,” he says to FORBES AFRICA, adding that AI should amplify rather than replace African creativity.
Deola Art Alade, Group CEO of Nigeria-based integrated creative company Livespot and Founder of Entertainment Week Africa, says the initiative marks an important shift because it recognizes African creators as participants in a global industry.
She says providing AI tools lowers barriers for creators working with limited resources but warns that technology without investment in skills development would only increase output rather than quality.
Art Alade also argues that ownership should become the next phase of Africa’s AI strategy, calling for greater investment in African intellectual property, production infrastructure, distribution platforms and eventually AI models trained on African languages, stories and cultural traditions.
“It is a meaningful accelerator… The responsibility now sits with those of us building the ecosystem in-market to make sure this moment translates into industry, not just output,” she shares with FORBES AFRICA.
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