INTRO 

This week is for all things AI, as Nigeria joined other nations at the AI Action Summit in France to collectively forge a direction for the emerging technology. A key highlight of the Honourable Minister’s engagement in Paris was a high-level meeting with H.E President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Google CEO, Sundar Pichai to seek out sustainable ways of enhancing the growth of our economy by leveraging Artificial Intelligence.

TIMELINE

Monday:

• Dr. Tijani travelled to France for the AI Action Summit where global leaders converged to deliberate on how best to proactively regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the benefit of all. Ahead of the summit activities, he featured on a live radio interview with the BBC World Service Newsday where he spoke on the promise of AI for Nigeria towards raising the level of productivity across key sectors of the economy. The programme was anchored by lead presenter, Rob Young.
• After this, the Honourable Minister met with Zameer Brey, Deputy Director, Technology Diffusion at Gates Foundation, on the sidelines of the summit to discuss Nigeria’s vision for AI development and potential areas of support from the organisation.
• Next was an engaging meeting with summit delegates from the United States and India where they discussed areas of collaboration, especially on issues relating to AI and its development.
• Following this meeting, Dr. Tijani joined a panel session moderated by John Palfrey of the MacArthur Foundation, to discuss ‘Linguistic Diversity: Building Value and Equity in AI’. At the session he highlighted the importance of inclusive AI systems that recognise and support their countries’ diverse languages. Other speakers on the panel include Zameer Brey, Deputy Director, Technology Diffusion, Gates Foundation; Nishant Lalwani, CEO, International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM); and Irene Mwendwa, Executive Director, Policy.
• The Honourable Minister’s last engagement on Day 1 of the AI Action Summit was speaking on a fireside chat session at the AI Africa Village on the topic, ‘What the AI in Africa? A Case for Unified AI Ecosystem’. At the session, panelists explored their countries’ AI initiatives, challenges, and successes while reinforcing the importance of a unified approach to AI development across Africa. Also on the panel were Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, AfCFTA Secretariat; Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda; and Honorato Evita Oma, Minister of Transport, Post Office and New Information and Communication Technologies, Equatorial Guinea.

Tuesday:

• On Day 2 of the Summit, he joined other global leaders and heads of governments at the Grand Palais to discuss the key common actions to take on AI. Notable speakers at the event were French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
• After his participation at the high-level plenary session featuring heads of states and governments, Dr. Tijani met with James Manyika, Senior Vice President (Research, Labs, Technology & Society), Google, to discuss potential support from the global technology company towards achieving Nigeria’s AI aspirations.
• He joined a high-level meeting with H.E President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Sundar Pichar, Google Chief Executive Officer, to discuss the potential for AI in Nigeria. At the meeting, President Tinubu highlighted the alignment of their discussion with his Renewed Hope Agenda while emphasising the importance of economic diversification for Nigeria through industrialisation, digitisation, and innovation. According to him, this will empower businesses, create new opportunities, and establish Nigeria as a significant player in the global digital economy. The Google CEO’s visit to the President builds on ongoing support from the global technology giant for our nation’s AI Agenda, which started last October with the donation of N2.8 billion grant to accelerate AI talent development in Nigeria. The Honourable Minister later attended a high-level dinner engagement to discuss the growing threat of misinformation, role of technology in tackling disinformation, and strategies for fostering a more trustworthy digital space across Africa. Tagged ‘Combating Online Disinformation in Africa’, the event was organised by Concerto in partnership with Jeune Afrique Media Group, French-African Foundation, and the Paris Peace Forum.