From Radio to AI

Author

Francis Saa-Dittoh

University

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Public defence

7 April 2026

DOI

10.5463/thesis.1627

Overview

The dissertation examines how sustainable information systems can be developed from the realities of African communities rather than transferred into them as finished solutions. It follows a line of work from radio and local-language voice services to Internet access and AI, asking what changes when community knowledge, communication practices and available infrastructure become central design inputs.

Across cases including Mr. Meteo, RadioNet/Tibaŋsim and TIBaLLi, the research combines participatory inquiry with the development of working systems. The cases show that access is not only a matter of connecting a device. Language, literacy, trusted media, maintenance, local priorities and the organisation of information all shape whether a system is meaningful and sustainable.

The ICT4D Plug-In Principle provides a connecting approach. It treats an intervention as something that should fit and improve existing knowledge and communication systems through iteration with communities. Moving from radio to AI is therefore not presented as a simple ladder of technical progress. It is a question of how changing technologies can remain accountable to context and practical purpose.

Research contribution

The work contributes a grounded design approach, documented case studies and reflections on voice, local-language technology and inclusive AI. It asks how researchers and developers can create information services with communities, how technical choices relate to existing systems, and what makes an intervention sustainable beyond a prototype.

Related case studies

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