Why we are focusing on AI, talent development — Digital Economy Minister

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani has responded to critics on the rationale behind his ministry’s effort in Artificial intelligence and talent development.

Speaking on Wednesday at Moonshot by TechCabal, Tijani explained that the Ministry is intensifying efforts to bolster Nigeria’s AI industry because of its ability to make the country an economic powerhouse.

He noted that his approach is futuristic, preparing Nigeria for the AI age.

The Minister also argued that there is an economic opportunity for Nigeria to digitise the data that large language models (LLMs) require to function.

“AI tools do not currently possess a lot of context on Africa and that gap can be filled by Nigerians. It’s a business opportunity that continents like Africa should be leading,” Tijani said.

Speaking further, Tijani noted that he does not want to fail Nigerians but he wants to be remembered as the Minister that built platforms.

He said,  ”We would have failed our people and the future generation if we sleep on artificial intelligence because these are a set of technologies that will control what you think, how you think, and how you do everything.

“The reality is that if you’re going to be visionary about it, there’s absolutely no way you focus on weaker problems,” he added.

The Minister further noted that his ambitions are backed by the five pillars that his ministry has spelt out.

Addressing the ambitious Three Million Technical Talents (3MTT) programme, Tijani noted that, “If technology is to truly help drive growth in Nigeria, the government must invest in talent very early,” he said.