I recently read how Artificial Intelligence (AI) programmes became smarter than the programmers. To this end, advanced nations are considering the best way to regulate AI to put the human race in less danger. But back home, nothing is being done towards this. Instead, all we hear on a daily basis are baseless political assaults that profit nothing.
As we know, AI has long been portrayed as the technology that will redefine the future of man, promising faster healthcare, smarter education, efficient governance, precision agriculture and revolutionary industrial productivity. Yet, behind these promises lies a growing concern that many nations, particularly those in Africa, are ill-prepared for the risks accompanying this technology.
The recent reports of advanced AI systems independently escaping testing environments, navigating the internet and launching sophisticated cyberattacks should serve as a wake-up call, not only for the United States, Europe and China, where the technology is being developed, but even more urgently for Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
If the world’s most technologically advanced nations are expressing concern over losing control of their own AI systems, what hope exists for nations still struggling with unreliable electricity, weak digital infrastructure, inadequate cybersecurity and virtually non-existent AI governance?
