Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, has advocated for standardised protocols and compliance in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the GITEX Global event held in Dubai.
Hamzat, who spoke during a panel session at GITEX, emphasised the importance of establishing strict legal procedures akin to those governing global data protection policies.
“Data should be made to connect in such a way that it deals with all jurisdictions,” Hamzat said. “One of the mistakes we made in the past as humans when psychology started was that data was made basically for the white people, therefore, the prognosis worked for the people in Africa.”
Hamzat wants AI biases eliminated to ensure fairness and transparency
Hamzat, who led the Lagos State Government delegation to the tech event, stressed the necessity of implementing strict legal and compliance procedures in AI. He emphasized the importance of creating laws that establish standard protocols for AI, similar to those governing data protection.
Hamzat also called for the elimination of biases in all AI operations to ensure fairness and transparency in decision-making processes.
AI technology allows computers and machines to mimic human learning, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, and autonomy. While the potential to transform industries and societies is significant, it raises ethical and regulatory concerns.
At the GITEX Global event in Dubai, global leaders discussed under the theme, “AI Urbanism: Will Algorithms Develop My City?” The speakers highlighted the rapid pace of technological advancements and the urgent need for standardised regulatory frameworks and compliance policies in AI, according to a statement from the Lagos State Government.
“We need to drive AI for all civil cases. For example, we are all in this place from every part of the world and if someone falls ill here now, can we get the person taken care of even though he is not from here?” he asked. “The question is, how can we use Artificial Intelligence to benefit everyone in terms of health, education and government services?
“Data should be made to connect in such a way that it deals with all jurisdictions,” Hamzat said. “One of the mistakes we made in the past as humans when psychology started was that data was made basically for the white people, therefore, the prognosis worked for the people in Africa.”
He added that data inclusivity is a key factor for successful deployment and operational effectiveness of AI. He said the entire world should be involved in the development of standard protocols so that it will work across all jurisdictions in the world.
“Another question is, how do we ensure that AI data is inclusive and we all sign off on it across all jurisdictions in order to remove biases? Some people have said that AI should be used as judges because we can remove inherent biases. The reality for me is that we must also have the AI rights bill just like we have a data protection bill so that everybody knows the principles of operations, which must be globally focused.
When we do that, then humanity will benefit because the standards are there, the protocols are there, and we would begin to push them into other areas such as health, education, water and so on,” according to the Lagos State Deputy Governor.
During his panel session on funding technology startups in Africa, Mr. Olutunbosun Alake, the Lagos State Commissioner for Science, Technology, and Innovation, emphasized the importance of education, training, research, and development as key factors for increasing technology adoption across the continent.
Alake noted the Lagos State Government’s initiatives, under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in creating a framework to nurture the abundant talents and potential within the state.
“We help startups at a very early stage. The idea is to de-risk these startups from the bigger PC guys, and I think it is a place where you can really come in to help at the incubation stage, the ideation stage, and all of that,” the Commissioner said. “The experimentation of new ideas, I think, is what we really excel at. Part of that had actually dovetailed to research and development. So, we have the biggest R and D fund than any state in Nigeria. We fund over 70 initiatives in four major universities in Lagos State, which is just to de-risk the creation stage as well.”
He mentioned an ongoing environmental science project aimed at being an alternative to non-biodegradable plastics whose research work has led to the creation of two companies. While acknowledging challenges such as infrastructure, Alake noted that the greatest challenge in Africa is education. “There is a need for African renaissance of education funding across the board, because if you drive education, you enlighten people, and then people will change the environment.”
He acknowledged the challenges of funding education, stating that while it is crucial, it can be difficult to see immediate returns on investment. Despite the risk of educated individuals seeking opportunities elsewhere, Alake expressed confidence that the benefits will eventually be realised.
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