FG seeks top Nigerian researchers to co-create National AI strategy
The Federal Government is seeking top researchers of Nigerian descent from all over the world to join in co-creating a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, made this known in a statement on Monday and also asked Nigerians to help in referring experienced researchers.
Tijani said the strategy will help shape Nigeria’s approach to building innovative tech solutions to the country’s most pressing national problems.
“If there are any researchers you know, Nigerian and non-Nigerian, who have done some work on the Nigerian market, please share in the comments,” the minister tweeted.
In the whitepaper shared by the minister on X (formally known as Twitter), the Federal Government noted that AI has become a multi-purpose technology transforming production and service delivery with the potential to significantly impact economic growth and social progress.
According to the document, recent research showed that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by the year 2030 with $3 trillion from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion from new products and services (PwC, 2018).
“The International Finance Corporation projects that the strategic adoption of Al could add up to $234 billion to Africa’s GDP by 2030,” the statement read.
“Nigeria in this loop is considered to have a fast-growing technology start-up ecosystem (having attracted 25% of the $1.3 billion funding to African tech start-ups in 2021) and with proactive leadership, is well-positioned to leverage Al for economic diversification and inclusive growth.
“As an innovation leader on the African continent, Nigeria needs to develop a national strategy to harness the power of Al for sustainable development.
“However, along with the opportunities, Al governance also poses some complex socio-technical challenges.”
It added that as algorithms are deployed in high-stakes domains like healthcare, finance, and security, concerns are emerging around ethics, bias, transparency, job automation, and privacy.
Both policymakers and researchers are of a consensus that a human-centred approach is essential to ensure Al systems are fair and accountable to all, across gender, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
A National Al Strategy for Nigeria to responsibly steer the Al revolution towards achieving national goals around job creation, social inclusion, and sustainable development becomes imperative.
According to the statement, with collaborative leadership, Nigeria seeks to pioneer ethical and inclusive Al innovation that improves welfare and expands opportunities for all its citizens.
