…As Hon Samuel George charges media to help enlighten populace on the value of internet governance space and digital infrastructure
By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – President of the 10th Senate, Godswill Akpabio has highlighted the need for awareness creation on the benefits of artificial intelligence even as he has tasked Nigerian youths to make responsible use of the social media.
Akpabio, who was represented by the Senate Committee Chairman on ICT, Senator Shuiab Salisu, at the Parliamentarian Symposium of African Internet Governance Forum (AFIIGF), organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja on Tuesday, said that a lot of things are happening that we need to create awareness among the citizens.
Sundiata Post recalls that the theme of the event is: “Transforming Africa’s Digital Landscape: Empowering Inclusion, Security and Innovation.”
According to Akpabio, it is not just about the social media, there is a lot of potentials of what artificial intelligence could be used for – it could be used in agriculture, for instance to forecast climate for farmers to know when to plant their seedlings; it can be used in health sector to predict the preponderance of some health challenges and health issues; it can be used in our educational system. Adding that we need to continue to appeal to our people that this technology has its potentials and we must focus on the positive and minimise the misuse of social media and artificial intelligence.
Akpabio, who said that social media is largely about citizens, acknowledged that it is a veritable tool in putting the people in government to check, in making them accountable and connecting with them, stressing that like every other technologies, it also has it’s negative side.
Similarly, the Secretary General of African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance and a ranking member of the Parliament from Ghana, Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP), also charged media to help enlighten populace on the value of internet governance space and digital infrastructure and raise issue of digital rights and digital frameworks as these are capable of opening more rooms for government to begin to put more resources in cybersecurity and digital rights protection to ensure the safety of citizens online.
He noted that the Symposium is looking at the emerging technologies and the threats that they pose, the benefits and opportunities that they also hold as well as the misinformation and disinformation; and how to make sure that societies are protected and the kind of information that they get and ensure that there are safe spaces for citizens on the Internet.
Sundiata Post recalls that African Parliamentarian Symposium of Africa Internet Governance Forum (AFIGF) is a framework under the office of U.N Secretary General that have been running now at global level for 14 years.
