Investigating Artificial Intelligence Digital Sovereignty in Mobile Shopping Apps: A Case Study of Nigeria
This study investigates the impact of Artificial Intelligence on digital sovereignty within Nigeria's mobile shopping apps, revealing that while AI is widely implemented, limited transparency and moderate user awareness create significant challenges for maintaining user control and platform accountability.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
The Invisible Shopkeeper in Your Pocket
Imagine you walk into a massive, futuristic mall where the shelves rearrange themselves based on what you're thinking, and a friendly robot greets you by name before you even speak. This isn't science fiction; it's the reality of modern mobile apps, especially in places like Nigeria where smartphones are the main way people shop, talk, and connect. But behind this magic trick lies a concept called Artificial Intelligence (AI). Think of AI as a super-smart, invisible assistant that learns your habits by watching what you click, buy, and search for. It uses this knowledge to predict what you want next.
Now, imagine you have a special power called Digital Sovereignty. In the real world, this is like having the keys to your own house and the right to decide who gets to look through your windows. In the digital world, it means you, the user, should know what's happening with your data and have control over it. But what happens when that invisible assistant is working in the shadows, making decisions about your life without telling you? This is the big question researchers are asking: Are we the masters of our digital lives, or are we just passengers in a car driven by an algorithm we can't see? This paper dives into that mystery, specifically looking at how Nigerian shopping apps handle this invisible power.
The Digital Detective Story
Two researchers, George and Sajda, decided to play digital detectives to solve a mystery in Nigeria. They wanted to see if the popular shopping apps people use every day were being honest about using AI. They picked three of the biggest shopping apps in Nigeria: Jumia, Konga, and Jiji. These apps are like the Amazon or eBay of Nigeria, used by millions of people to buy everything from phones to clothes.
To find the truth, the researchers didn't just ask the companies what they were doing; they went into the apps' "basements." They set up a fake, safe Android phone in a computer lab and installed these three apps. Then, they acted like a normal shopper, browsing items and clicking around. Afterward, they used special forensic tools to dig through the app's hidden files, looking for clues—like secret logs, databases, and code—that would reveal if AI was running the show. It's like checking a magician's pockets to see if he's hiding cards, rather than just watching his hands.
What They Found in the Shadows
The investigation revealed that AI is definitely present, but it's playing hide-and-seek.
The Clues: Inside the apps, the researchers found digital footprints that scream "AI is here."
- Konga was using a system called "Netcore Smartech" to track exactly what you search for and when. It also had a database full of "recommendation blocks," suggesting that the app was using AI to guess what you might want to buy next.
- Jumia had a secret chat with a company called "Sprinklr," which provides AI-powered chatbots to talk to customers. They also found evidence of "MoEngage," an AI marketing tool that stores your search history and what you've looked at to build a profile of you.
- Jiji was using "Intercom" for messaging and had files showing it was using Google's "ML Kit," a toolkit for machine learning. It also kept a detailed log of every product you viewed.
The Big Secret: Even though these apps were packed with AI tools, the researchers found that the apps were not telling the users.
- When you look at the app descriptions on the Google Play Store, none of them explicitly say, "Hey, we use AI to track you!"
- The privacy policies were vague. Jumia mentioned "personalization" but didn't say it was powered by AI. Konga didn't mention AI at all in its public documents. Only Jiji was slightly more honest, admitting in its privacy policy that it uses "automated tools powered by AI."
The Trust Gap
The paper also looked at the bigger picture of how Nigerians feel about this technology. They found a strange mix of curiosity and caution.
- Confusion: About 40% of people said they only know "a little" about AI, and 22% said they know nothing at all.
- Uneven Use: While many people use AI on social media or for fun, very few realize they are interacting with it when they shop or use government services.
- Low Trust: Less than half of the people surveyed felt they could trust AI systems. They were worried about how their data was being used and whether the technology was fair.
The Verdict: The Magic Trick Needs a Manual
The main finding of this paper is that while AI is deeply embedded in Nigerian shopping apps, transparency is missing. The apps are using AI to personalize your experience and predict your behavior, but they aren't clearly telling you that this is happening.
The researchers suggest that this lack of honesty hurts digital sovereignty. If you don't know the invisible assistant is there, you can't really control it. It's like if a chef added a secret ingredient to your soup to make it taste better, but never told you what it was. You might enjoy the soup, but you don't have the choice to say, "No thanks, I don't want that ingredient."
The paper doesn't say AI is bad; in fact, it can make shopping easier. But it argues that for people to truly be in charge of their digital lives, they need to know when AI is watching and making decisions. Currently, in these Nigerian apps, the AI is doing the work, but the user is left in the dark. The researchers conclude that for digital economies to grow safely, apps need to be more open about their "magic tricks," giving users the power to understand and control the invisible forces shaping their digital world.
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