AI could deepen inequality in Nollywood, study of Nigerian filmmakers finds
Research involving 21 Nigerian filmmakers explores how generative AI affects Nollywood, from subscription costs and cultural bias to creative jobs.
Artificial intelligence is often promoted as a way for filmmakers to create more with smaller budgets, but research by academics at the University of Groningen suggests the technology could reinforce existing inequalities rather than remove them.
The study, published in the academic journal AI & Society in August 2026, examines how generative artificial intelligence is being adopted in Nollywood, the name commonly used for Nigeria's film industry. Nollywood produces films and television content for Nigerian audiences and international viewers, with a substantial output of locally made stories reflecting the country's cultures, languages and experiences.
Researchers Godwin Simon, Thomas Poell, David Nieborg, Smith Mehta and Lorena Caminhas based their analysis on 21 interviews with Nigerian filmmakers, alongside industry reporting. Their findings raise questions about whether AI tools are genuinely making film production more accessible, particularly for creators who already face financial and technical barriers.
One concern is the cost of using generative AI services. The researchers found that differences in access to subscription-based tools can reinforce the divide between higher-budget productions targeting cinemas and global streaming platforms and lower-budget projects made for domestic streaming services and YouTube.
If better-funded productions can afford more advanced tools while smaller teams cannot, AI may strengthen existing advantages rather than level the playing field.
Why AI can struggle with Nigerian stories
The research also highlights cultural problems with AI-generated material. Many AI models are trained predominantly on data from the Global North, which can leave them poorly equipped to represent Nigerian settings, cultural practices and everyday experiences accurately.
The researchers describe problems including cultural misplacement, stereotyping and a lack of representation. For filmmakers, these limitations can mean spending additional time correcting generated images or adapting their workflows so that the finished work reflects the story they actually want to tell.
Some filmmakers are responding through hybrid production methods, customised models and efforts to develop AI infrastructure tailored to local needs. These approaches suggest that the technology can be useful, but that making it work well requires expertise and resources rather than simply entering a prompt.
The study also examines the effect on creative employment. Instead of concluding that AI replaces filmmaking as a whole, the researchers found that it can take over particular tasks, especially during pre-production. That shift may affect informal working relationships and the networks of people who have traditionally helped productions get made.
The findings offer a perspective often missing from AI debates dominated by Hollywood. They suggest that the future of AI filmmaking will depend not only on what the technology can produce, but also on who can afford it, whose culture it represents and how its adoption affects creative workers.
Source credits: Simon, G., Poell, T., Nieborg, D., Mehta, S., & Caminhas, L. (2026). A perspective from Nollywood: examining how GenAI is integrated in the Nigerian film industry. AI and Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-026-03220-5
