Prof. Toyin Falola
Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo, came alive on Thursday as scholars and dignitaries gathered for the 17th convocation, where Prof. Toyin Falola delivered a stirring lecture titled “The Future of Knowledge.”
Falola traced knowledge from ancient libraries to Artificial Intelligence, warning that Africa risks “digital colonisation” if it fails to innovate.
He stressed that while information travels globally in seconds, reliance on foreign technologies could undermine Africa’s intellectual autonomy. He urged the continent to embed local languages, histories, and epistemologies into AI systems and build African-controlled data centres and AI models.
The historian cautioned that rapid digitalisation threatens cultural memory, indigenous wisdom, and ethical application of knowledge. He emphasised the need for media literacy, critical thinking, and equitable access to technology, noting that AI should enhance, not replace, human inquiry.
Falola highlighted the responsibility of graduates to engage technology with curiosity, caution, and courage, insisting that Africa’s knowledge systems, rooted in morality, community and balance, can guide ethical innovation. He concluded that the future belongs not to the most technologically advanced, but to the wisest societies.
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