The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has urged governments at all levels to increase investments in ICT infrastructure to promote responsible utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) by citizens for self-empowerment and societal well-being.
The organisation also called on the Federal Government to implement comprehensive national policies, legislation, regulations, and administrative frameworks to guide AI deployment for national development, particularly in elections and governance.
This call was part of a communiqué issued at the end of the 5th Kano Social Influencers Summit, held from September 18th to 19th, 2024, at the Grand Central Hotel in Kano. The communiqué was signed by Alhaji Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, Convener of KANSIS and Executive Director of CITAD; Chiamama Okafor, Executive Director of MILID; and Professor Abdulhamid Abdullahi from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). A copy of the communiqué was shared with the press on Friday in Kano.
The communiqué further called for refining ICT policies to address the gender gap and prioritise the interests of people with disabilities (PWDs) and other marginalised groups. It also recommended that the Federal Government initiate a national debate on an AI deployment framework.
According to the summit, AI should not be viewed as a threat to jobs but as a tool to enhance job efficiency and productivity, particularly in sectors like media, arts, business, and governance.
The communique also noted that traditional rulers could leverage AI technology to improve community administration and foster grassroots participation in peacebuilding processes.
The summit highlighted the significant gaps in understanding AI’s potential impacts, particularly regarding efforts to promote inclusivity. It emphasised that AI had improved communication and accessibility for individuals with hearing impairments through advancements in speech recognition and sign language translation, enhancing their participation in elections and governance in Nigeria.
However, it was observed that despite these advancements, challenges such as translation accuracy and the need for continuous algorithm updates persist.
Nigerians need to scale up their knowledge and skills in AI technology to participate effectively in election processes and governance, as well as to enhance their engagement with the government in shaping public policies and programmes in their favour.
The summit emphasised that a notable adoption of technology is taking place within the governments of Kano and Jigawa states, a development that is improving public governance and providing job opportunities for young people in both states in recent times.
Earlier, the Executive Director of CITAD, Alhaji Ya’u, disclosed that the theme of the summit was deliberately selected to coincide with ongoing global discussions on the merits and demerits of AI, particularly in the context of Nigeria’s quest to nurture its nascent democracy. This includes strengthening election processes and aspirations for good governance by Nigerians.
He added that the issue of AI has recently been at the forefront of global and national discourse, especially regarding its usefulness in day-to-day human interactions and transactions, notably in social, economic, and political contexts.
Alhaji Ya’u described AI as a technology that heavily relies on data to convey information, which can be misused by those deploying it. He noted that bias could be embedded in how AI algorithms are trained. Such bias, arising from either selective or incomplete datasets, could result in the misrepresentation of facts, realities, and people.
He stated that while AI has tremendous potential, this year’s summit was intentionally designed to explore the prevailing environment of its deployment in Nigeria to create public awareness about its usage.
The Executive Director concluded that the plenary sessions and parallel panels were specifically designed to provide an exhaustive exploration of the potential and notable biases concerning people with disabilities in Nigeria. This aims to conceptualise national policies that will be all-inclusive and adequate to guide the nation’s development quest.
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