Don Recommends FG Invest in AI Readiness Infrastructure

University professor Prof. Oluwatoyin Enikuomehin, from the Computer Science department at Lagos State University, has advised the federal government to invest in artificial intelligence readiness infrastructure. He argued that Africa must take intentional steps in building AI datasets as institutional datasets. Enikuomehin emphasized that societies are shaped by their dominant technologies, and those that benefit most from AI won't be those who adopt it quickly, but those who use it thoughtfully.

He stressed the importance of treating universal broadband connectivity as a public utility and creating digital literacy programs for all segments of the population. Additionally, he called for the collection, curating, and publishing of high-quality African datasets with open access. Enikuomehin further urged Nigeria to play an active role in shaping the global AI order, rather than merely inheriting existing systems.

He noted that every Nigerian graduate should be able to critically engage with AI systems in their professional field, rather than only using them as users. The lecture, entitled 'Thinking Machines And The Future Of Thinking: Cyberphysicalism, The Transformation of Human Thought And The Emergence Of An Artificial Intelligence Driven Algorithmic Society', highlighted how AI goes beyond being just another technological innovation.

Enikuomehin argued that AI extends cognition, reshapes institutions, and transforms the relationship between biological and computational intelligence. He concluded that AI is initiating a transformation unlike any previous revolution, as it influences decisions rather than just changing how work is done. Enikuomehin pointed out that Africa contributes about 19% of the global population but has less than 1% of AI dataset training data and less than 1% of AI compute infrastructure.

He warned that Nigeria must build AI datasets as institutional assets, as current statistics are not only embarrassing but also warnings.