According to them, with Nigeria rapidly transitioning into a knowledge-based economy, the adoption of AI will be critical in driving this.
Speaking at the 4th edition of Nigeria Information Technology Reporter’s Association (NITRA) ICT Growth Conference themed: “Impact of AI on National Development: Prospects, Policies and Challenges in Nigeria” held in Lagos.
Setting the tone for the conversation, Editor and Chief Operating Officer at DigiVation Network TV, Hilary Damissah, stirred concerns about the natural anxiety people have, inclusive of Nigerians on the advent of any new disruptive technology like AI and sort to know the preparedness of the nation in terms of policy, security, and probable socio-economic effects of navigating the dangers of AI in a developing economy such as Nigeria.
In response to that, the Chief Information Security Officer, Digital Encode, Oluwakayode Olatunji, opined that while AI is evolving, Nigerians have to adopt its usage into daily activities and that AI will not take away human factors from the job market.
“It is not that AI will take your job. However, it’s just like a moving train. If you have your ticket with you and you don’t want to get on the train, it will leave you at that particular place, and you will become obsolete over time. AI is not there to take out the job. However, we also need to prepare ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and physically to ensure that we plug into the opportunities that it offers. It’s a wave, and that wave is continual,” he pointed out.
Speaking on the role of the media in AI deployment, ICT Editor at Daily Independent Newspapers, Justus Adejumo, noted the need for media to be knowledgeable about the subject matter to always disseminate the right information.
“We should have better education, that means as the societal gatekeepers, media professionals have to be deliberate in acquiring new training, build capacities and acquaint themselves more with global trends,” Adejumo reiterated.
Giving more emphasis, Adejumo said: “For me, one way to bridge the information gap occasioned by the advent of AI, especially as watchdogs of the society, is through better education. In this context, I’m not talking about the conventional education of going to college or university and all that. Now, the AI we are talking about is something created by humans and not by robots or people from space. That means those who are going to operate it and deploy these services of technology must also understand what they are doing.”
Speaking to the fact that AI is data-driven, Internet-centric and readiness of how organisations like NIRA intend to ensure the domestication of local content in the AI narrative in Nigeria,
Peter Oluka of TechEconomy and representative of the President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Adesola Akinsanya, said AI is all about data, stressing that it is not garbage in or garbage out.
He called for more preparedness on the part of Nigeria and Nigerians to be able to harness fully the potential of the technology.
On how Nigeria can harness the potential of AI to solve the energy problems confronting the nation, Oluwatoni Olugbenga, a top-tier IT and energy expert stated that Nigerians have to come to terms with the fact that energy is not cheap before dealing with the challenges.
“The first thing is that energy is not cheap, but the cost of energy itself is not the issue.
First, we need to get it right in terms of regulation. How can we leverage AI? In terms of technology as well, we need the right corporate governance, we need to have appropriate data, and when we have this, we can leverage AI to improve what we have in the energy space,” he said.
