Daystar University Hosts Premier AI Conference

Delegates, key dignitaries, and participants gather for a group photo at the DU BRAINS Annual Innovation Festival, held on July 14th , 2026, in Nairobi. Included in the front row are Prof. Laban Ayiro, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Prof.James Katz, and the DVC-ARSA, Prof. Samuel Muriithi and DVC FAP, Prof Muturi Wachira.

By Wairimu Gitau, Timothy Oiro and Purity Karunda 

[Nairobi: July 13th- 17th, 2026] Daystar University hosted the first ever Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference at Nairobi Campus.

The four-day conference dubbed: DUBrains 2026 attracted over 400 scholars, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, innovators, faith leaders, lawyers, storytellers, and communication experts, all of whom participated in shaping conversations around how to responsibly exploit the opportunities presented by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

The weeklong discourse began with a student innovations pre-conference dubbed IGNITE, which saw 56 student innovators showcase their original technological projects under the theme "Re-imagining Africa with AI: Ethics, Innovation, and Inclusion for a Transformative Future by Building Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Networked Societies."

The student innovators worked under the mentorship of lecturers and industry partners including the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA), Co-operative Bank, Linked Africa, Care for Shepherds, Economobilus Technologies, Carbon Zero Mobility, Lumiere Core, Geomine, and the Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Three groups emerged as winners. AMR One Health Nexus, an antibiotic resistance data integration tool took first place. The First runners-up was the Sawa Project, a child safety ecosystem, while the second runners-up was MINERAI, a geospatial intelligence platform.

The Judges urged innovators to start their innovations with the quest ‘why’, emphasizing honesty, passion and a clear definition of the problem. Resilience and boldness were also praised as characteristics of Africa's future generation of entrepreneurs, while diversity in teams was emphasized as crucial for responsible use of AI.

The conference began on the third day, Wednesday 14th July, at the DAC Auditorium. Daystar University was represented by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Laban Ayiro, who was accompanied by the DVC-ARSA Prof. Samuel Muriithi, DVC-FAP Prof. Muturi Wachira, members of Senate and Management, Faculty and students.

The Chief Guest was Principal Secretary, State Department for Science, Research and Innovation (SRI), Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak. Other key guests included the CEO of KeNIA, Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa, Feld Professor of Emerging Media Studies, Boston University (USA), Prof. James Katz, Secretary-General of the Kenya National Paralympic Committee and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Mr. Stanley Mutuma, the Lead, Ethics and Governance Council at THINK Tech Innovators, Rev. Dr. Crispus Kinyanjui, and Daystar University Lecturer, Gospel Musician, and Disability Rights Advocate, Dr. Reuben Kigame.

Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak delivered an opening address focusing on deployment of responsible AI. Noting that Kenya was actively strengthening its position through the Kenya Special Envoy on AI, he highlighted five essential pillars for Africa's digital growth:

1.      Prioritizing Homegrown Solutions: Africa must avoid "outsourcing intelligence" and instead build local AI models for agriculture, healthcare, and business.
2.      Breaking Silos: Deeper partnership is needed between government, academia, and industry to turn research into commercial products.
3.      Securing the Value Chain: Investing across computing power, data collection, research, intellectual property, and commercialization.
4.      Balancing Innovation with Ethics: Guarding against privacy risks, misinformation, bias, and job loss through transparent human oversight.
5.      Youth and Data-Driven Growth: Using local data and empowering youth to make Kenya a global AI hub.
"Creating synergies and breaking silos across government, academia, and industry will help us build a stronger innovation ecosystem that turns ideas into impact," said Prof. Abdulrazak.

The Vice Chancellor centred his address on character and moral intelligence in technology. He cautioned that universities must evolve beyond technical skills to train ethical leaders. He introduced a holistic framework involving five quotients namely Intellectual, Social, Emotional, Character, and Virtue for the AI age (IQ + SQ + EQ + CQ + VQ).

"The greatest danger is not that machines will think like humans; it is that humans will begin to think like machines. AI can never become more ethical than the people who create it," said the VC.
Presenting a paper on "griefbots", Prof. James Katz observed that AI systems created from a deceased person’s digital footprint to generate new responses. He warned that while AI can simulate communication, it cannot replace genuine life or community healing.

Prof. Katz proposed three ethical tests for AI tools:
o       Community: Does it bring people into real, embodied relationships?
o       Truth: Does it protect human identity?
o       Maturity: Does it support growth rather than artificial dependence?

On his part, KeNIA CEO Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa observed that AI is redefining global competitiveness, and called on universities to produce graduates who solve real-life problems and create jobs. Cautioning that Intellectual Property (IP) is the primary currency of the AI economy, Dr. Omwansa urged creators to protect AI models, trademarks, and generative outputs through legal frameworks.

Addressing various AI tools which have aided people with disabilities, Mr. Stanley Mutuma explained how screen readers, optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech, and digital braille displays are removing barriers for visually impaired persons.

Dr. Reuben Kigame expounded on disability and technology from a faith perspective. He noted that AI text-to-speech, automatic translation, and mobility tools help people with disabilities to fully participate in religious life, music production, and scholarship. He urged software developers to include accessibility features from the very start.

Rev. Dr. Crispus Kinyanjui spoke on African AI Ethics, emphasizing that AI must solve real local problems in order to earn community trust.  He added that ethical frameworks must be built on open dialogue rather than forced rules.

"The success of AI in Africa will be measured by our ability to solve real problems and deploy solutions that communities can trust," he said.
On the final day, the DVC- FAP Prof. Muturi Wachira outlined key focus areas that are necessary for institutional sustainability in the AI era. He:
o       Mission continuity & ethical governance
o       Financial resilience & long-term viability
o       Environmental stewardship & social responsibility
o       Continuous innovation to build organizational value

He explained that investing in AI is a strategic move that helps organizations improve productivity and create long-term value.

At its peak, the conference shifted its focus on security and governance, with workshops covering timely engineering, institutional sustainability and citizen AI participation.

The Foster Project team also demonstrated open science projects that connect responsible AI to responsible knowledge, such as citizen science in Kibera.

On the second day of the conference, DVC ARSA, Prof. Samuel Muriithi highlighted IBM as a leader in exploring artificial intelligence (AI) innovations. 
"Like a bushfire, AI that started in the 1950 as a thought, has now captured the world," he said, further, the conference highlighted Daystar University's commitment to shaping the pattern and the path for AI in the Continent.

Prof. Muriithi left participants with a guiding principle drawn from Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart."

In his closing remarks, the DVC-ARSA Prof. Samuel Muriithi, described DUBrains2026 as one of the most successful conferences Daystar University has hosted in recent times.

Reflecting on the week-long conference, the conference Committee Chair Prof. Egara Kabaji offered reflections that may ultimately define the legacy of DUBrains2026.
o       That Daystar University has a unique opportunity to lead Africa's AI conversation, and become the intellectual home for responsible and virtuous AI.
o       Institutions must move beyond compliance-based systems to character-based leadership. Virtue - not merely regulation - must become the foundation of AI development.
o       Responsible people must guide responsible technology. AI itself is neither moral nor immoral. It simply amplifies the values of those who design, deploy, and govern it.
o       No level of technological sophistication can ever justify the diminishing of human dignity.
o       Africa must move from being merely consumers of AI to becoming creators of AI. The continent needs indigenous solutions designed around African realities, opportunities, and aspirations.
o       Inclusion remains the true measure of innovation because leaving any group behind is not actual progress.
o       Public trust is becoming the foundational currency of the future. Institutions that fail to earn and maintain trust will struggle regardless of technological capability.

What came out loud and clear from the conference was that AI has become the defining conversation of our generation. The question is no longer whether AI will shape our future, it already is shaping.