Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has emphasized the imperative of harnessing Artificial Intelligence (
AI) to enhance productivity across critical sectors of Nigeria’s economy. This assertion was made during his Keynote Address on “Artificial Intelligence: Effective Communication for National Security” at the 2023 Security and Spokespersons Awards and Conference held in Abuja.
Inuwa underscored the transformative impact of AI on daily life, emphasizing its role in improving health, safety, and overall productivity. He highlighted AI as more than a mere tool, describing it as a new paradigm in building relationships between humans and machines.
The Director-General urged a shift towards developing systems that meet specific human needs, emphasizing the importance of avoiding the uncontrolled proliferation of AI algorithms. In addressing concerns about the AI algorithm powering social media, Inuwa stressed the necessity for “explainability in AI” to prevent unintended consequences and ensure responsible use.
He revealed that Nigeria is actively working on AI principles, data readiness, and AI-ready security, with a focus on establishing redlines that AI must not cross. Inuwa announced the initiation of a collaborative process, including crowdsourcing opinions for the National AI Policy, reflecting a commitment to inclusive policy-making.
To encourage AI research and innovation, Inuwa disclosed a grant initiative offering up to N5 million to forty-five Nigerian researchers. This initiative aims to explore the application of AI in crucial sectors such as Health, Education, Agriculture, Finance, and Security.
According to Inuwa, “when the present administration came onboard, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mandated the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to accelerate the diversification of the Nigerian economy by enhancing productivity in critical sectors through technological innovation, and we strongly believe that to achieve this, AI is our best tool to use in that regard”.
“To take this further, we launched a call for research, where we are offering a grant to forty five Nigerians to do research on Artificial Intelligence, so that we get a feedback on how to use AI in Health, Education, Agriculture, Finance, Security and many more.”
“We are giving up to N5Million to each researcher because we want to co-create and design the policy collaboratively, not the government using arm chair theories to come up with the policies, we need everybody to be onboard”.
In line with the national agenda for economic diversification, Inuwa affirmed AI as a pivotal tool. He shared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had mandated the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy to accelerate diversification using technological innovation, with AI playing a central role.
In closing, the Director-General emphasized the need for universal standards in regulating AI. He addressed concerns about bias in AI systems, calling for global data to ensure unbiased development and deployment.
Inuwa concluded by stating that AI remains a top priority for NITDA, highlighting the agency’s commitment through the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR).
The 2023 Security and Spokespersons Awards and Conference, organized by Image Merchant Promotion Ltd in collaboration with Coalition Society Organizations, featured discussions on Security and Spokespersons Communication Awards and goodwill messages.
