By Leake Ileka
American and Chinese tech giants are building AI systems that can absorb, replicate, and commercialize our cultural knowledge at unprecedented speed and scale.
By 2028, companies in Silicon Valley could be selling digital Namibian cultural designs to global markets, pocketing millions while the communities that created these traditions over centuries receive nothing.
AI systems are ethically bankrupt by design. They’re computer programs without moral functions, programmed to copy and replicate whatever they’re fed. When these systems are instructed to emulate our indigenous culture and knowledge, they do so without hesitation or consideration for the communities they’re stealing from.
The Namibian Constitution, in Article 19, guarantees every person’s right to “enjoy, practise, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion.”
This fundamental protection extends to our non-physical cultural heritage; the living expressions passed down through generations. However, this constitutional right faces its greatest test yet in the digital age.
The Incoming Era of Digital Colonialization by AI
The global exploitation of San people’s traditional knowledge of the Hoodia plant is a good example. After centuries of using it for appetite suppression, foreign pharmaceutical companies patented this knowledge without consent, earning millions.
Additionally, the Ovahimba and San, among the world’s most distinct cultural groups, see their images generate revenue for foreign photographers and filmmakers while their communities remain marginalized and impoverished.
In the AI era, this exploitation accelerates to new levels. Digital platforms can now create infinite variations of traditional Himba jewelry designs or San rock art patterns, flooding global markets with cheap imitations.
The Aawambo culture faces similar threats. Traditional clothing patterns, passed down through generations, can be scanned, digitized, and mass-produced without acknowledgment or compensation.
Sacred stories, meant to be shared within communities according to specific protocols, risk being stolen by AI and repackaged as entertainment or educational content.
By 2028, I predict that we’ll likely see our cultural identity packaged as emojis, NFTs, virtual reality experiences, and 3D-printed products all “produced” by foreign companies. No royalties will flow to our traditional authorities. No benefits will reach our communities. Our heritage will generate wealth, just not for us. This risk exists today.
This isn’t merely economic theft; it’s cultural erasure. When AI systems trained on Western data reinterpret our traditions, they distort them. When sacred knowledge becomes publicly accessible content, it loses its power and meaning. Failing to protect our cultural identity means failing to preserve our history from distortion and propaganda.
Two Steps Namibia Must Take Now
Drawing from my Master’s thesis titled “Legal Strategies and Challenges for Protecting Intangible Cultural Heritage from Appropriation,” here are two concrete solutions Namibia can implement to protect our cultural heritage from AI exploitation:
1. Develop Specific ICH Legislation
Namibia urgently needs dedicated laws protecting intangible cultural heritage. While our Traditional Authorities Act empowers leaders to “uphold, promote, protect and preserve” culture, it lacks enforcement mechanisms against digital appropriation.
Based on my research comparing EU and UK frameworks, new Namibian legislation must go beyond general cultural protection. The law should explicitly require AI companies to obtain Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from communities before digitizing any cultural expressions.
This means tech companies cannot simply photograph Himba hairstyles or record San healing songs without formal agreements that detail how the content will be used, stored, and commercialized.
Furthermore, the legislation should establish clear penalties for violations. When a company uses our cultural knowledge without permission, communities need legal grounds to demand immediate cessation and compensation.
2. Empower BIPA with an ICH Mandate
The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) activities must expand beyond conventional patents and copyright to protect our communal cultural expressions. My thesis reveals how traditional IP frameworks fail indigenous knowledge because they assume individual ownership, while our heritage belongs to entire communities.
Therefore, BIPA should establish a Traditional Knowledge Documentation Unit. This unit would work directly with traditional authorities to create a national ICH registry. When the Ju/’hoansi-San document their clicking language patterns or the Herero record their praise songs, they retain control over who accesses this information and under what terms.
By formally documenting traditional knowledge through BIPA, communities create prior art that blocks foreign patents. More importantly, when AI companies inevitably seek Namibian data to diversify their training sets, BIPA becomes the gatekeeper, ensuring any access happens through proper channels with fair compensation flowing back to source communities.
The Path Forward
History shows us what happens when we fail to protect our heritage. The physical artifacts in Western museums remind us daily of past losses. AI companies are not waiting. Every day, their systems grow more sophisticated at extracting and replicating cultural knowledge.
As Namibians, we can either become subjects of digital colonialism, watching helplessly as our traditions enrich foreign corporations, or we can lead Africa in establishing robust protections for intangible cultural heritage in the AI age.
*Leake Ileka is a Chevening Scholar and holds a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property from Bournemouth University, England (2024). He specializes in IP policy and innovation systems in developing economies.
