By Perpetua Onuegbu
A civil society organisation (CSO), Connected Development (CODE), has launched a five-year strategic plan involving five million dollar media grant to journalists to promote artificial intelligence (AI) reporting in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief Executive Officer of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, performed the unveiling at a media dialogue and launch of the AI Reporting Initiative on Tuesday in Abuja.
NAN also reports that the theme of the initiative was: ‘Exploring New Media Opportunities to Accelerate Development’.
Lawal said that the organisation recognised the power of innovative and cutting-edge technologies in empowering citizens and promoting economic growth and social change in every society.
He said that in keeping with this objective, CODE came up with the plan to assist journalists in mobilising Nigerians for ethical use of AI tools.
“By launching this new project, our organisation intends to encourage the appropriate application of AI to investigate frameworks that reduce risks, like algorithmic bias, data privacy issues and unequal access to public services.
“We have all seen the revolutionary power of new media in Nigeria. We have benefitted from the application of AI to address systemic issues in governance, public service delivery and accountability.
“However, like with any new technology, citizens must grasp the advantages and disadvantages of AI-driven technologies in order to ensure their responsible use.
“CODE has profited greatly from the generosity of these new technologies in communicating with people living in remote corners of our country and beyond, influencing government policy and helping marginalised groups to live sustainably.
“We acknowledge your explicit powers as Fourth Estate members to not only report news but also to influence, exercise authority and define the thinking pattern of every culture, morality and course of all civilisations,” he said.
The chief executive officer said the fund was expected to help journalists and communication specialists to prioritise the role of AI in providing scalable solutions and speeding up development across CODE’s various thematic focus areas.
The areas, according to him, include: health, education, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as transparency and accountability, to address any ethical challenge that may arise during its deployment.
In his keynote address, a media expert, Dr Majeed Dahiru, said that practitioners must adopt and adapt to AI for self-preservation.
Dahiru, who spoke on “AI in the Media Space, Gaps and Opportunities for Media Practitioners”, said AI was fast transforming the creation, distribution and consumption of content.
He listed the benefits of AI to include: increased efficiency and productivity, helping practitioners to remain competitive, creating content and automation and aiding media organisations to cover more stories.
Dahiru, however, cautioned that AI had its limits and drawbacks, including the concern that it might replace humans and create convincing fake news.
He, therefore, advised media practitioners to continuously enforce ethics and make human productivity a priority.
Dahiru also urged government to invest in the media, adding that any flourishing media organisation in the world had the financial backing of government to thrive.
Also speaking, Managing Editor of Social Voices Media, Seun Durojaiye, said that the media were today facing an existential crisis because the media landscape had become porous.
She noted that AI alone would not solve the issues but that it could used as a tool, along with others, to help in overcoming these issues. (NAN)
