Impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Nigerian Youths

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed from a simple idea in the 1950s to a powerful force changing the world today.

The term “Artificial Intelligence” was introduced by John McCarthy, and early research focused on rule-based systems and solving logical problems.

By the 1960s and 1970s, AI had grown to include machine learning, neural networks, and natural language processing.

Although the 1980s saw the rise of expert systems, funding for AI dropped when expectations were not met.

In the 1990s and 2000s, advancements in machine learning revived AI, leading to new applications like speech and image recognition.

The 2010s brought even greater progress through deep learning, which boosted image and speech recognition, language processing, and AI performance in games like AlphaGo.

Today, AI is part of everyday life.

It’s used in healthcare, finance, transportation, and more.

Research now focuses on making AI more understandable, fair, and collaborative with humans.

AI has the power to:

1. Learn – Improve its performance by learning from data.

2. Solve Problems – Identify and fix challenges.

3. Reason – Make decisions based on data and rules.

4. Perceive – Understand information from images, sensors, and sounds.

In Nigeria, AI is found in virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, image recognition apps, chatbots, predictive tools, healthcare systems, and even self-driving technology.

Major players in AI development include companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon; top universities such as MIT and Stanford; and open-source communities building tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch.

Positive Impacts on Nigerian youths:

Improved Education:

AI-powered learning platforms offer personalised lessons, helping students access better education and improve results.

Digital Skills Development:

Youths can gain valuable tech skills that increase their chances of employment and support national growth.

Negative impacts

Over-dependence on Technology:

Relying too much on AI may weaken critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are vital for national development.

Job Displacement:

Automation might replace jobs with repetitive tasks, requiring youths to find new career paths.

Digital Inequality:

Not all young people have equal access to AI tools or education, which may worsen existing gaps.

Bias in AI:

If AI systems are trained with biased data, they might unfairly affect how Nigerian youths are treated or evaluated.

Spread of Misinformation:

AI can be used to quickly spread fake news, influencing public opinion negatively.

Dependence on Foreign Tech:

Relying on foreign AI solutions might slow down local innovation.

Skills Drain:

A focus on AI could pull talent away from other key areas like farming and manufacturing.