The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has announced plans to engage tech companies in its bid to prevent Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications from harming Nigerians.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu SAN, on Thursday, at an AI Governance webinar organized by the International Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (IN-CSR) in collaboration with the Commission, attended by Nairametrics.
The workshop was also held in partnership with the United Nations Working Group and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The announcement comes months after the African Union (AU) Executive Council approved the “Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy,” which proposes the adoption of AI in the public and private sectors among member states, including Nigeria.
The AU disclosed this in the Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy document published on the AU website on Friday, August 9, 2024.
Leveraging AI
Giving his keynote address at the workshop, Ojukwu, who heads Nigeria’s human rights agency, said AI, if not governed with robust ethical frameworks and with human dignity at the core, can breed inequalities, result in algorithmic bias, invade privacy, and ultimately infringe on human rights.
- He added that the Commission perceives this not as a threat, but as an extraordinary opportunity to expand its mandate in the digital space.
- He stressed that the NHRC will leverage tech companies to protect Nigerians from harm and discrimination associated with AI usage.
“The Commission, in its strategic approach, will engage tech companies to ensure that AI algorithms are transparent.
“This transparency will allow for independent audits, redress mechanisms, and accountability measures that will prevent discrimination or harm,” he said.
- He added that the Commission is also poised to mandate tech companies to implement human rights due diligence (HRDD) in digital innovation, including rigorous assessments to identify potential harms before technology is deployed.
- He stressed that although AI is increasingly becoming more sophisticated, the central role of human oversight remains vital.
Ojukwu assured participants that the Commission is uniquely positioned to act as a bridge among government entities, private sector innovators, academic researchers, and civil society organizations in the nation’s quest for AI Governance.
He highlighted that the role of the NHRC will now be to foster dialogue, share best practices, and coordinate with regulatory bodies to do the following:
- Work with international partners, tech experts, and rights advocates to establish standards that are both technologically sound and human-rights-centric.
- Engage not just with industry giants but also with those at the grassroots who are often most affected by technological disruptions.
He further tasked stakeholders with establishing clear lines of accountability for both public and private actors who develop and deploy AI systems across sectors in Nigeria.
More Insights
Speaking at the event, Kashifu Inuwa Abdulahi, Director General of NITDA, said that in response to AI-associated risks, NITDA is prioritizing the development of diverse, high-quality local data sets to train AI models that are inclusive, equitable, and free from biases inherited from foreign data sets.
- Represented by Barrister Emmanuel Edet, Regulations and Compliance, NITDA, he said the Agency is collaborating with research institutions, AI developers, and regulatory bodies to establish ethical guidelines for data curation, fairness audits, and bias mitigation techniques.
- He explained that NITDA has partnered with an innovative AI startup and other government bodies “to develop Nigeria’s first government-backed large-language model (LLM).”
He said this LLM is being trained in five low-resource Nigerian languages and accented English, aiming to enhance the representation of Nigeria’s diverse linguistic heritage in AI applications.
According to him, this initiative underscores the commitment to leveraging indigenous data sources to ensure that AI technologies serve all segments of Nigerian society.
He assured that NITDA is committed to ensuring that AI systems deployed in Nigeria uphold transparency, accountability, and fairness in governance.
