AI adoption in African higher education: A systematic review of benefits and ethical implications

The accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within African higher education presents both challenges and benefits. Numerous studies indicate that integrating AI into higher education can facilitate educational accessibility, enrich teaching and learning, bolster skills development, and streamline administrative tasks, thereby reducing costs. This study employed the PRISMA methodology to select 113 articles from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, spanning the years 2020 to 2024. Thematic content analysis revealed four primary benefits of AI adoption: enhanced teaching and learning, improved administrative efficiency, strategic digital transformation, and expanded access and inclusion. Conversely, the study identified four core ethical challenges: risks to academic integrity through the misuse of generative AI, data privacy concerns, the digital divide and infrastructural inequality, and institutional unpreparedness, including policy and capacity gaps. These findings emphasise the dual imperative of harnessing AI’s potential while mitigating associated risks. To support responsible AI integration, the study recommends that African higher education institutions establish context-specific AI governance frameworks, invest in equitable digital infrastructure, embed AI competencies across academic curricula, and provide targeted training for faculty and students. Moreover, fostering intra-African research collaboration and policy dialogue is critical for building contextually relevant, ethical, and inclusive AI adoption pathways. This study contributes to the growing literature on AI in African higher education and offers actionable insights for policymakers, institutional leaders, and scholars committed to advancing digitally responsive and ethically grounded education systems across the continent.