The Program Director, Society for Women Engineers (SWE) Stella Dennis has emphasized the need for students to channel their skills into developing practical and innovative solutions that address real-world challenges using artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaking in Abuja on Friday at the an Innovative lab: AI for All practical session in collaboration with American Spaces and SWEBaze University, Dennis expressed optimism that students would move beyond theory and begin applying their knowledge to solve pressing societal problems.
Dennis explained that the world is now a global village with mirage of real world problems and activities, hence a need for real-time solutions using artificial intelligence (AI), stating that with technological advancement, nations of the world are moving at the speed of light hence Nigeria must not be left behind.
“My expectation after this is to ensure that they continue to build solutions that are real world, that will solve real world problems.
“And also be sure that we are also in the landscape and the radar where others are, the world is when it comes to AI.”. she added.
Meanwhile, Dennis noted that the program: AI for ALL targets teachers, university students, primary and secondary school students who were trained on the use of AI solutions to solve real-time challenges.
“We are teaching them how to create theirs. So that even when we have malwares, or we have people who are intruding without authorization, they are able to know how to also stop them.
“So STEM for us is not just STEM. It’s about how to use AI, how to use
robotics, and all that. Those are all the things that make up STEM education. So we’re all in all complementing what the federal government is doing.”.
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi represented by Mr. Abdullahi Abubakar in charge of
policy and regulatory development
and implementation noted that NITDA is not just regulating use of AI in Nigeria but developing AI tools while ensuring that there is ethical development and responsible use of AI in Nigeria.
“We developed AI strategy to provide for a framework that Nigeria can use to ensure we are taking advantage of our competitive advantage of AI in Nigeria. We know Nigeria has a very young talent pool and we have the resources it takes to make AI or Nigeria an AI hub in Africa and the world at large.
“NITDA is coordinating that initiative, ensuring that we are bringing all stakeholders to the table, having the right conversations, developing our infrastructure, and last but not the least, ensuring that any use of AI, whether in the academia, in government, in private sector, is done responsibly and for the good of Nigerians.”.
Meanwhile, Inuwa lauded SWE’s initiative delivering impacts to all Nigerians, especially women and children using technological tools to solve real-time challenges.
“You can see the amount of children, women that are here today and the kind of platform that has been provided for them by this organization to ensure that we build their capacity and we ensure
that they are progressive and also help Nigeria grow in terms of ensuring there is inclusive
access to digital infrastructures, technology, and knowledge.”. he stated.
Chairperson, Society for Women Engineers, (SWE), Okobi Ololade on her part noted that artificial intelligence is not just the future of the world, but it is an innovation that has come to stay, hence charged Nigerians to embrace the positive use of it in solving real-time challenges.
In her opinion, Ololade noted that AI will not replace human efforts due to input of human to ensure its effeciency but advise Nigerians to develop themselves in the use of AI.
“So it’s not going to take people’s job because in it itself, the technology itself needs an input. And that’s what people, we have to develop themselves to do. So it wouldn’t take people’s job, because now the old job will eventually go away, and this new one will come.
“We should embrace it, because, okay, we should embrace the AI. It’s necessary, because the world is not going to eliminate Nigeria for crying out loud. The world is moving ahead, and we have to move.”. She added.
