The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has revealed that Nigeria and some other developing countries lack digital infrastructure for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
This was made known yesterday, in a report by the IMF which indexed Nigeria low amongst other African and developing countries which it said are lagging in the area of digital infrastructure for AI and are the least prepared for the technology.
The report, however, comes shortly after Nigeria reportedly launched its AI strategy and its first Multilingual Large Language Model in April.
According to report, the IMF’s new ‘AI Preparedness Index’ tracks 174 economies based on their digital infrastructure, human capital, labour policies, innovation, integration and regulation and the interactive map for the Index shows that most African countries, except Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, have little preparedness and are marked yellow, while the countries with substantial preparedness are marked in blue.
According to the report, Nigeria scores 0.34 points while South Africa scores 0.35 points. Benin scores 0.6 while Tunisia scores 0.47, Ghana scores 0.43, Angola scores 0.26, Namibia scores 0.37 while Algeria scores 0.37 amongst other African countries.
Other countries that were indexed by IMF include Canada which scored 0.71 AI preparedness, US with 0.77, China with 0,64, Sweden with 0.75, Australia with 0.73, Finland with 0.76, France 7 and New Zealand with 0.75 AI preparedness amongst other countries.
Recall that in March, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Aminu Maida, had reportedly stated that developing regulations and policies for artificial intelligence deployment remained challenging due to rapid technological advancement while noting that the dynamic nature of AI necessitates constant adaptation and innovation in regulatory frameworks to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
Meanwhile, the IMF, while disclosing that wealthier economies tend to be better equipped for AI adoption than low-income countries, it said AI may further worsen the inequality that already exists in the world but went on to highlight some of the benefits of AI for economies, adding that AI could complement worker skills, enhance productivity and expand opportunities.
The IMF wrote: “Under most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers can work to prevent. To this end, the dashboard is a response to significant interest from our stakeholders in accessing the index.
“It is a resource for policymakers, researchers and the public to better assess the AI preparedness and importantly, to identify the actions and design the policies needed to help ensure that the rapid gains of AI can benefit all,” the IMF said in the report.
“In advanced economies, for example, some 30% of jobs could benefit from AI integration. Workers who can harness the technology may see pay gains or greater productivity—while those who can’t, may fall behind. Younger workers may find it easier to exploit opportunities, while older workers could struggle to adapt.
To be better prepared for AI, the IMF said the policy priority for emerging markets and developing economies should be to lay a strong foundation by investing in digital infrastructure and digital training for workers.
It added that policymakers in advanced economies should expand social safety nets, invest in training workers, and prioritize AI innovation and integration while noting that countries globally would need to coordinate with one another to strengthen regulation to protect people from potential risks and abuses and build trust in AI.
It said, “For policy makers, those in advanced economies should expand safety nets, invest in training workers and prioritize AI innovation and integration. Coordinating with one another globally, these countries also should strengthen regulation to protect people from potential risks and abuses and build trust in AI. The policy priority for emerging market and developing economies should be to lay a strong foundation by investing in digital infrastructure and digital training for workers.”
As part of its AI preparation initiatives, the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, recently organized a 4-day co-creation with over 120 Artificial Intelligence experts.
The workshop culminated in the country’s National AI Strategy. At the end of the workshop, the Communications Minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced the launch of Nigeria’s first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM).
According to him, the AI tool was launched through a partnership between a Nigerian AI company, Awarritech, a global tech company, DataDotOrg, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the National Centre for AI and Robotics (NCAIR).
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of KAOUN International, Trixie Lohmirmand, while speaking to Journalists last month, reportedly said that Africa’s funding gap needed to be closed to enable the continent to harness the potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionise its economy.
