In the past year, The African Comics and Cinematic Empire (TheACE) has rapidly evolved from a young media platform into a research-driven voice documenting Africa’s comic books, animation space and the wider creative economy. Along the way, we have embraced digital tools including AI systems, like ChatGPT and Gemini, to help us work faster, think sharper and navigate an industry that remains drastically under-documented across the continent.

From the early days of using AI tools to refine interviews with Nigerian creators, to drafting analytical pieces on the East African animation ecosystem, to building our first industry-aligned report in collaboration with Bookause, AI has been a practical companion. It has helped us summarise long histories, compare emerging markets and explore ideas that would have taken weeks of manual searching.

But it also revealed something deeper: AI does not yet fully understand Africa’s comic and animation industries. Prompts referring to historic Nigerian independents, pioneering East African animators or niche Namibian conservation comics often return patchy, incomplete results. This is not because the industries lack depth, but because global AI models have not been trained on enough African creative-economy data. And that is precisely why responsible, transparent use of AI matters.

By integrating AI tools into our workflow and doing so ethically, TheACE contributes to correcting that imbalance. Every article, interview, analysis and news story we refine using AI teaches these systems to better recognise African creators, African stories and African media histories. Each verified correction, each precise attribution, each culturally accurate phrasing nudges the digital record closer to truth.

In short: responsible AI use helps make African creative industries more visible, not just to the world, but to the tools shaping tomorrow’s information landscape. Yet this responsibility also requires safeguards. To protect our creators, protect our credibility and protect the stories we champion, TheACE has taken the next step every serious media platform must eventually take: establishing clear ethical boundaries.

Today, we are announcing TheACE AI Editorial & Ethics Policy, our formal commitment to human-led storytelling in an AI-enabled era.

Why the Policy Matters Now

Firstly, our workload has expanded dramatically. As we cover more countries, creators, conventions and studios across Africa, AI has helped us remain agile. But as that reliance grew, so did our need for transparency.

Secondly, comics and animation are built on years of practice and personal signature; technology cannot simply overwrite that. African creators deserve assurance that their styles, labour and identities will not be replicated or misused by AI without consent.

Thirdly, we want to lead by example. Many emerging creative-economy organisations, collectives and startups across Africa also use AI silently in their workflows. By publicly declaring our own guidelines, we hope to give others a framework to adapt, one rooted in integrity, respect and cultural context.

What the Policy Covers

The new policy outlines clear practices for the ethical use of AI across TheACE’s operations. It includes human-led decision-making for all articles, reports and analyses; strict fact-checking for any AI-assisted content; mandatory disclosure when AI meaningfully influences research or drafting; strong protection of artists’ rights, including a ban on unauthorised stylistic mimicry; no AI-generated deepfakes, synthetic people or fabricated quotes; confidential handling of partner and creator materials, with no private data entered into AI tools; limited visual use, strictly for conceptual sketches, not replacements for artist labour; and Internal governance frameworks, including an AI Ethics Expert, annual audits and responsible use training.

This policy protects African artists and creators while enabling TheACE to use modern tools responsibly.

Why This Benefits the Industry, Not Just TheACE

The African comic, animation and gaming sectors remain some of the least documented cultural industries in the world. When creators, platforms and organisations use AI responsibly and correct it when it misrepresents their work, they participate in a form of digital self-definition.

This is bigger than tech. This is about visibility. It is about shaping how Africa’s creative economy appears in global archives, digital knowledge systems and future AI models.

By establishing this policy today, TheACE invites other media platforms, creative organisations, blogs, review pages, festivals and studios to do the same: adopt AI openly, use it responsibly and let your corrected data help teach the world who we are.

The next generation of AI systems will understand African comic books, African storytellers and African animation better than the last. But only if the people closest to the culture help shape that understanding. TheACE is proud to take this step, responsibly, transparently and with the creators we serve at the centre.

Check out the policy document and guide for creators and partners.