Nigeria committed towards responsible use of Artificial Intelligence — Kalu

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has emphasised the federal government’s commitment to ensuring the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the economy.

Hon. Kalu stated the disclosure during a courtesy visit to him by a delegation from Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook) led by the Vice President, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey, Mr. Kojo Boakye, and the Director, West Africa, Ms. Adaora Ikenze.

Meta is an American multinational technology conglomerate that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, among other products and services.

The Deputy Speaker, while appraising Meta’s contributions to Nigeria’s digital economy, noted the company’s significant investments in Nigeria, particularly in the area of fibre optic cables, mobile partnerships, and business capacity support for entrepreneurs and SMEs, stressing that the news of the 45,000km Africa subsea cable landing in Lagos and Akwa Ibom states is particularly exciting, given its potential socio-economic impact on the country.

He said, “I heard you mention things about AI. You were interested in AI when you mentioned the various areas where META is involved beyond Facebook and Instagram. Then I saw you’re interested in AI, and I’m happy that the government of President Bola Tinubu chose technology as one of the areas that will help this administration advance towards achieving its set national objectives.

“So, we understand the relevance of AI, artificial intelligence. And we also appreciate your interest in our national artificial intelligence strategy. As a government, we are committed to fostering innovation and the responsible use of AI, with an emphasis on the responsible use of AI.

“It could be abused as well. We value industry input. We value collaboration. We look forward to engaging with stakeholders like you to ensure that our own AI strategy aligns fully with global best practices and serves the interests of both technology companies and the public, especially our own citizens.

And what they tend to achieve, it’s not all AI that would be healthy for our economy, but there are many of them when they are adopted and adapted to suit our unique needs that will contribute to our national development, and those ones will be expanded to embrace them.”

Speaking about the proposed digital rights bills, Kalu sought the collaboration of Meta in the protection of digital rights.

“In our minds, we are intentional about content moderation and digital rights bills. Regarding the proposed content, moderation, and digital rights bills, we understand the importance of a balanced and fair regulatory framework. I want to re-emphasize that.

“And I also want to say that our legislative process is open to constructive dialogue; embrace this one that we’re bringing up and other ones that we’re going to showcase as well. And we welcome your insights and recommendations in the course of that engagement. It will not just be a presentation; it will not be a working document for us to come up with another amendment to our law or repeal.

“And then, during reenactments of our laws, we will take your opinion seriously. I’m sure if you participate and accept our hand of partnership to engage more, together we can work towards a bill that will ensure digital rights are protected”.

Hon. Kalu also hinted that by January next year, his office will be convening a sectoral policy dialogue in collaboration with advocacy for the Civic Engagement Centre, focusing on information technology and innovation.

While seeking the support of Meta, the Deputy Speaker added that the regulatory laws espoused by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act (ARCON, 2022) are not meant to punish anybody but to clean up the space to avoid abuse.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr Boakye, informed the Deputy Speaker of their intention to initiate some digital expansion in Africa, saying it would benefit Nigeria as a country.

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