Artificial Intelligence and Asymmetrical Power in African Conflicts: Mozambique and Ahlu Sunnah wa-Jama’a

Abstract

This thesis examines how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape conflict, and information ecosystems in Africa, with a particular focus on Mozambique. While much of the global literature on AI and security is centered on highly digitized environments, this study argues that AI can also affect low-connectivity conflict zones through uneven, and indirect forms of adoption. Using the conflict of Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama’a in Mozambique’s northern state, Cabo Delgado, as a case study, this thesis explores how insurgent groups and state institutions interact within an asymmetrical technological environment that arises from weak governance, limited intelligence sharing, political tension and overall digital abstinence. Focus is given to propaganda from generative AI, algorithmic amplification for controversial media, the role of WhatsApp vs traditional social media apps in Africa, and the current limitations of data and research in Mozambique. The findings suggest that AI in African conflict does not depend on widespread access to advanced tool, but rather how technologies intersect with fragile state control and uneven cooperation in the region. It concludes that AI is likely to deepen existing asymmetries in conflict environments where corruptive governments struggle to respond as quickly as insurgent movements and actors can adapt