TheCable

The federal ministry of communications, innovation and digital economy says Nigeria has joined a $100 million global partnership to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to solve some of the most critical challenges.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said the partnership was launched at the first-ever global AI safety summit in the United Kingdom on Wednesday.

The partners include the UK government, through its ‘AI for Development’ programme, Canada, the United States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among other partners in Africa.

They will fund safe and responsible AI projects for development around the world.

“The $100 million partnership will initially focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, in a deliberate effort to ensure that this ground-breaking technology is available to all,” the ministry said.

“The funding will support local expertise and technological capacity to support the efforts of the continent’s AI innovators as they build solutions for long-term development.”

Speaking at the summit, Bosun Tijani, minister for communications, innovation, and digital economy, said AI offers an unprecedented opportunity to appropriate knowledge more quickly and seamlessly in addressing some pressing social and business challenges.

“Our duty as policymakers is to ensure that our nation can participate and mainstream value creation from AI,” he said.

“As we embark on this journey to accelerate our investment in the use of AI for good, it is essential to collaborate with long-standing allies to deepen our capacity and knowledge.

“The ‘AI for Development’ programme of the UK government represents a significant step in our journey to harness AI for our collective prosperity.

“This partnership, which is in line with the ministry’s strategic blueprint, will further support ongoing federal government initiatives like the recently launched national AI research scheme and build Nigeria’s capacity in AI as part of our long-term commitment to deepen the application of AI for economic prosperity.”

According to the statement, the collaboration which spans the next five years will fund postgraduate training and fellowships in AI in African countries.

It will also go a long way to support investment in building data models that ensure an accurate representation of Africa, build responsible AI governance frameworks to manage the potential risks of using AI and provide overall support for Sub-Saharan countries.