The global tech community to find measures that will ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are built according to policies, regulations, and laws.
Indeed Government across the global needs to make sure that there are Ethics, Codes, and Standard for anybody designing any system that will make decisions on behalf of the government or that will make decisions that the community must follow.
According to the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Kashifu Inuwa, Government must be discourage in the use of armchair theory to come up with laws or regulations saying that government should co-create it with the ecosystem because the technology is new and evolving.
Inuwa made these observation at the Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during a plenary session with the theme, “Catalyzing AI Communities and Solutions: Sharing Cases Across the EU, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.”
He called for community involvement in the building AI systems stressing that if few techy people are allowed to develop AI systems, they will build the systems with a techy mindset, forgetting that they are needed to tackle issues such as criminal justice, recruitment and profiling.
Inuwa while warning against the risk of looking at technology from the consumer’s perspective like the capitalist stressed the need to focus at it from the citizen’s eyes by looking at it on how “changes the way we live together, and how it can be used for the public good.”
He however stated that Government can only regulate what it you knows saying that to make the digital space safer for everyone, including children, Nigeria recently came up with a Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries.
He said what the government is trying to achieve with the Code is to ensure that what is illegal offline is illegal online, adding that the action plan is to move Nigeria’s legal laws to the digital space.
Inuwa also warned against the scenario whereby big tech companies are more powerful than some sovereign nations due to the data and information in their possession.
He stated that as most of the laws and regulations around the world continue tackle anti-competition and anti-trust issues, there is the need for increased accountability, or safeguarding privacy.
He added that, due to the domination factor that plays out in the tech space, some big techs always try to acquire anyone doing something in their niche.
While explaining the quest by Government for technology as a tool for governance, he said that total control of technology can lead to authoritarian regime or dictators for protection of democracy.
“With the way AI is evolving, we are at a narrow intelligence stage, but by the time it reaches the super intelligent stage, we cannot control it anymore, because we don’t know what it is going to be. We always talk about the promising potential and mostly keep silent about the deadly risk of these technologies,” he said.
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