The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) amid information overload and governance gaps is an ongoing topic among civil society and media groups in Nigeria, who seek to shape AI’s role in democratic development. While AI is increasingly utilised for civic development and good governance, concerns persist about its potential misuse for spreading misinformation due to
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) amid information overload and governance gaps is an ongoing topic among civil society and media groups in Nigeria, who seek to shape AI’s role in democratic development.
While AI is increasingly utilised for civic development and good governance, concerns persist about its potential misuse for spreading misinformation due to inadequate policy frameworks. Ensuring accountability in deploying these technologies for democracy and social justice is a key focus for civil society actors.
A two-day workshop in Abuja by the Centre for Journalism and Innovation Development (CJID) urged media and CSOs to get involved with technology, warning that a lack of civic participation in AI could undermine democracy and human rights.
The workshop, themed “Advancing AI readiness, Civic advocacy and Accountability for Nigerian CSOs and Media,” was organised with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Nigeria AI Collective, funded by Luminate Africa. It focused on involving media and CSOs in policy efforts to protect journalists and promote collective responsibility.
CJID Executive Director Akintunde Babatunde stated that AI is a lasting force in civic spaces, but warned that media and civil organisations in Nigeria risk falling behind due to stakeholder neglect.
Mr Babatunde noted that Nigeria is currently developing its approach to AI discussions, and civil actors have not kept pace. He indicated that this has led to increased occurrences of information disorder, as certain groups utilise AI technology for their purposes without implementing measures to regulate the media environment.
He called on media experts and CSO representatives to address AI’s ethical challenges in Nigeria and achieve transparency and accountability.
“There is no doubt that AI has come to stay. It doesn’t matter what our biases are towards it. But we need to know that some actors are already working behind the scenes to make the technology work in their favour, even at the expense of sanity in society. We, the media and the CSOs actors, are behind in this conversation, as opposed to what we should have had.
“We must now begin to demand ethical and inclusive use of AI for development in Nigerian media to correct information disorder like misinformation and disinformation. We need to be the driver of policy frameworks for how AI will derive ethical use in Nigeria. The CSOs and media must be at the forefront of all of this if we do not want to be taken advantage of after all policies have been implemented.”
Speaking on the excitement and apprehension attached with AI as far as media and journalism are concerned, Idris Akinbajo, the editor of Premium Times Newspaper, urged the media houses to set AI policies for the respective newsrooms. He explained that despite the public denial of AI usage by journalists, research has revealed that almost all journalists are using generative AI.
He further noted that rather than being apprehensive about the wave of AI, media actors are supposed to be excited and be innovative about how to incorporate the technology into their profession and also engage with the government on how to maximise the AI in light of the ethics of journalism. He also warned the journalists to avoid overreliance on the technology, as originality must not be lost in journalism.
“The truth is, AI is here to stay, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. But there is a place of ethics, both in journalism and in the expanded sense of it. Before now, there was this apprehension that AI would take journalists’ jobs, but we are clearly seeing that it even makes the job easier, so it should be an excitement for this generation.
“But that does not mean that AI does not pose its challenges, particularly with the overreliance on AI we now see in the public space. As a matter of fact, journalists also use AI, and at some points, they lose the originality of their works. It is a challenge, and there is a need for regulation of ethics in journalism.
“If there is no accuracy in journalism, such journalism is a waste. What about how AI, like deepfakes and generative AI, are now being used to create content, posing the danger of fake news? All of these are factors creating apprehension about AI, but we must all come together to change the narrative and create a safe space for AI and its users,” Mr Akinbajo said.
Supporting his counterparts on the apprehensions and excitement of AI, Kolapo Olapoju, the editor of The Cable Newspaper called on the media not to trade its credibility for AI, instead, the newsroom leader asked journalist to see AI as assistive tools that can enhance their productivity but should not replace the ethical works of the media, which is to sanitise the information space.
Mr Kolapo also referred to the danger of false information, which AI is used to enhance currently in the media space. He called for collaboration among the media practitioners to combat AI influence on information and its deployment to promote false information, calling for the setting up of fact-checking desks on all media platforms. He also urged the newsroom managers to be well educated about how AI can be used transparently in the profession to ensure that machines do not break the circuit of humanity.
“We all agreed that AI is the new world order, and it has come to stay. We now have an internal AI policy in my platform. That tells you that we have accepted the fact that it has come to stay. But AI must not replace originality or be used to distort originality, which must be in all journalistic writing.
“We should not look at the aspect of false information or information disorder. In all of this, the media must hold its position to fight against the promotion of false information. I urge all the media and the CSOs to start advocating for information sanity through media literacy for members of the public; otherwise, it poses more danger. Another thing is we must collaborate as media and CSOs to generate revenue with the new wave of AI.”
Dwelling on the impact of AI on democracy development and human rights, Bukola Shonibare, the Executive Director, Invictus Africa, emphasised the need to democratise the knowledge acquired on artificial intelligence.
Speaking on the AI, she clarified that AI can be used to track journalists and civil society actors who are critical of the government, potentially leading to suppression and witch-hunts by state actors. She spoke about humanising the functionality of artificial intelligence. “We must understand the democratisation of AI. The knowledge around AI is not to be hoarded; the media and the civil society organisations must bring their understanding of AI to the fore. Our failure to do this can be detrimental to our activism, which could lead to threats and attacks on us while human rights remain endangered.
“We must amplify how to regulate AI in our climate. We must also find a way to localise the technology, since Africa is not dominant in the system yet; Nigeria must take an active role to ensure that the government does not adopt AI as an agent to shrink or shut down the civic space,” she explained.
Speaking on the ownership of artificial intelligence and the place of the African continent in the global space, Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, the Chief Executive Officer of the CJID, maintained that the technology is owned by Western countries while Africa is still relegated to playing catch-up in the adoption and usage of the technology.
He further explained that even though some technological companies are already moving towards the political economy of AI, the media and civil society organisations are still quiet on the political dimension of the technological advancement, as the development can subtly mean another form of colonialism.
While the old colonialism seems to have fizzled out, Mr Olorunyomi said leaving AI to the developed countries can be interpreted as data colonialism since they come around to scrape information about the citizens while they use it to dominate the world.
“In this conversation, the CSOs and the media must be critical of some political dynamic of the AI, as it were. We must be looking at how the critical aspect of this sector works. And we need to start asking some germane questions, like, are we not in another digital colonialism and economic system? For instance, we must be able to answer the question of who owns the AI. Why did they give Africa access to it? Is AI coming to displace people’s employment?
“We must understand the dimension of the economy. Can we say the same west that travelled a long distance to make African slaves and later transcended into colonialism is giving us free access to an advanced technological framework like AI without any anticipated economic gains for them?” he quizzed.
To answer these questions, Mr. Olorunyomi challenged civil society actors and critical stakeholders to start this conversation by establishing a media agenda and strategy, as the wave may disrupt those at the bottom of the value chain, namely, citizens.
He urged the media to begin questioning the facts and speaking out for the average Nigerian whose job is under threat because of technological advances.
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