Indigenous worldviews and Digital Humanism
Implications for inclusive e-Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59490/dgo.2025.1067Keywords:
Digital Humanism, e-Governance, e-inclusion, inclusive e-Government, Digital democracyAbstract
As the world grapples with the challenge of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into existing systems or processes, there is a resultant tension associated with the inherent nuances between determining where the role of the human-stops and that of the machine-begins. As new 4IR driven technologies are integrated into main-stream society, dialogue on the important topics
of inclusive e-Governance and Digital Humanism from a global south perspective must be encouraged. This paper acknowledges the limitations of technologies developed from a western viewpoint that prioritises individualism over community which is an inherent trait of the indigenous worldviews. In the universal viewpoint of Digital Humanism, indigenous perspectives must be included. Digital humanism transposes the social concept of humanism into the digital realm. Digital humanism seeks to ensure that human values such as dignity, freedom, ethics, democracy, social justice and self-determination are not overlooked as technological capabilities become more sophisticated. Historically, developing countries have been identified as late adopters of technological advancements. This paper seeks to unpack the concept of Digital Humanism, explore its relevance to e-Governance and investigate its alignment to existing (global south) e-inclusion discourse.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Bukelwa Ngoqo, Eirik Skjærseth, Anne-Sofie Engelschiøn, Samuel Bosire
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