The transition from human and AI institutions to artificial superintelligence and artificial general intelligence will be subtle. (Image source: 123RF)
Africa’s financial services sector is entering a new era of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI). artificial intelligence (A.I.) The continent is evolving to foster economic growth.
These were the words of Ravina Ramkissoon, the African Union Ambassador representing the East, North and South of the continent, at the 2026 Financial Sector Conduct Oversight Conference held last week.
As AI rapidly evolves beyond its current framework, Africa faces a narrowing of the boundaries that define its role in what could be a fundamentally different global economic order, she said.
Mr Ramkissoon is co-chair of the African Union’s Science, Research, Technology and Innovation Council and leads its ‘Region 6’ diaspora portfolio.
She warned that Africa must not be caught by surprise as the world enters a new frontier in AI: AGI and ASI.
AGI refers to AI that rivals human intelligence and can learn, reason, and apply knowledge across diverse domains. ASI, on the other hand, is a theoretical future AI that exceeds human intelligence in all fields.
Ramkissoon warned that the global AI trajectory is already moving beyond human-machine collaboration to more advanced forms of intelligence.
“In my opinion, we’re rapidly moving away from human agency, away from AI agency, and into an area where we’re going to see AGI unfolding, but we don’t really know it’s unfolding.”
She noted that this transition may be subtle at first, with limited signals before a more dramatic leap.
“There will be one or two significant signs… and then all of a sudden we wake up and see ASI all around us from a superintelligence standpoint.”
This progress, she suggested, raises fundamental questions about control and control. governance.
Rather than focusing purely on technological capabilities, Ramkissoon argued that society needs to confront how much decision-making power it is willing to give up.
“From a human perspective, we’re going to have to dig deep in terms of understanding where we go next and what control we relinquish or negotiate going forward.”
He stressed that beyond technological changes, Africa’s response must be based on structural preparedness. According to her, responsible AI at scale relies on three core pillars: infrastructure, computational power, and a broader understanding of intelligence itself.
Regarding infrastructure, Mr. Ramkissoon noted that Africa’s financial and digital ecosystem remains fragmented, stressing the need for interoperability rather than siled systems.
“For some reason, we haven’t been able to orchestrate it in a uniform way. This is probably the last opportunity to utilize AI to evaluate it.”
She also challenged assumptions about computing power, arguing that the continent does not yet need widespread investment in large data centres.
“Our use of AI is not yet at that capacity. When it comes to the larger capabilities needed, things like language models and robo-advisors are still relatively simple to run.”
More fundamentally, Ramkissoon pointed to changes in how intelligence itself is defined and used in the digital economy.
“Intelligence is intelligence. The distinction between human and artificial intelligence is becoming less important as the two increasingly converge.”
This change is already reshaping the way we think about economics. Ramkissoon described the emergence of what she called a “new age economy” where traditional drivers are being replaced.
“It no longer works on the cost of capital, it’s moving to the cost of energy, the cost of data, the cost of intelligence.”
He also noted growing divergence in how the world’s technology companies approach AI, with some pushing for rapid expansion of capabilities and others insisting on constraints.
Within the African continent, more than 60% of countries have adopted some type of AI policy or regulatory framework as of 18 months ago, and different regions are starting to take different approaches.
But unless a unified vision is articulated and the full potential of AI is harnessed, the continent risks falling behind, she said.
“We understand the opportunity, but what are we actually doing concretely on the ground to unlock it?” she asked, pointing to persistent challenges such as unemployment and low economic growth.
While AI is already reshaping labor markets around the world, Ramkissun cautioned against viewing the issue solely in terms of job losses.
“We are focusing more on fear than optimism. AI is creating and destroying jobs at the same time.”
Instead, she called for a broader, long-term view of strategic positioning, beyond short-term disruption.
“We need to really zone in and take a macro view. Without that, Africa risks missing out on a key moment that will shape our digital and economic future as AI capabilities accelerate towards increasingly autonomous and potentially uncontrollable systems.”
