Nigerian artist and filmmaker Malik Afegbua is harnessing AI to safeguard African heritage. His projects combat the profound loss captured in the continent’s saying: “When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.”
Through LegacyLink, Afegbua records elders’ lives, capturing stories, videos, and 3D scans of heirlooms. This data will create interactive “digital twins”—holographic displays or chatbots allowing future generations to converse with these elders, making their experiences “live forever.” After initial hesitation, elders in Nigeria have embraced the concept. Afegbua plans to interview 1,000 people across Africa by 2028, relying on human translators to preserve cultural nuances.
Simultaneously, his ReMemory project virtually reconstructs lost or inaccessible heritage sites. Using historical records, he digitally rebuilds landmarks like the ancient walls of Benin City, destroyed in 1897. Users will explore these spaces via phones or VR, ensuring that even physically lost history remains accessible, allowing African heritage to endure for generations to come.
