A software engineer, Mr Emeka Okoye, on Tuesday called on governments to formulate policies that would tackle the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Okoye, the Chief Executive Officer, Cymantiks, a semantic web company, made the appeal at the 2018 Social Media Week Lagos.
He spoke on the topic: “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work in Nigeria’’.
Okoye said that government policies should allow creation of more jobs to replace jobs taken over by AI.
“AI is a thinking machine, and it is coming with some risks; the country has witnessed the threat of AI and robotics in some manufacturing industries.
“With the imbibing of artificial intelligence, some jobs will be lost, but with government policies on job creation, more jobs will be available for people.
“We need to create more jobs so that when AI takes over some jobs, people will not be idling about due to job loss which will lead to societal ills,’’ Okoye said.
According to him, governments would also need to prepare for AI revolution by looking into the educational system.
“The education system in the country has failed us.
“School curricula have not changed with recent changes in the world,’’ the software engineer said.
Okoye said that there was the need for more knowledge factories in form of hubs in the country in an effort to take advantage of the AI introduction.
He advised Nigerians to put themselves on the right path to get knowledge on the best way to utilise AI.
The software engineer said that AI revolution would improve daily lives and help to explore and develop new trends.
He called for citizens’ acquisition of knowledge that would not let them lose out of AI revolution.
Okoye urged Nigerians, especially the youth, to think out of the box for the country to acquire the gains of AI.
The 2018 Social Media Week Lagos has the theme: ‘Closer’.
It is a weeklong event which started on Feb. 26 to end on March 2.
The event will feature discussions covering the future of media, travel, governance, gender inclusion, entertainment and emerging ideas and trends across the globe.
Social Media Week Lagos is in its sixth edition.