In a bid to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the electoral process in Nigeria, stakeholders engaged themselves on Friday at a workshop on ‘AI and the Future of Elections in Nigeria’.
The stakeholders included officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), media professionals, information technology experts, civil society organisations (CSOs), security agencies, and religious and community leaders, among others.
The workshop, which was convened by a civil society organisation, Webfala Digital Skills for All Initiative (WDSFaI), was held in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
Participants at the workshop deliberated on the role of AI in enhancing the conduct of elections in Nigeria and also explored ways to leverage AI in areas such as voter registration, vote counting, election monitoring, and the countering of fake news and hate speech.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Director of WDSFaI, Bakare Nafisat, said her organisation convened the workshop to provide a platform for stakeholders in the electoral process to discuss opportunities and challenges posed by AI in the management of elections in the country.
“AI has become a part of our daily lives and has been at the centre of discussions around the world. With its potential and sophistication, AI can have a positive or negative impact on the electoral process. This workshop, therefore, aims to explore ways AI could enhance the credibility and transparency of elections in Nigeria.
“We also believe that discussions here will assist stakeholders in the electoral process, especially INEC and security agencies, to prepare for upcoming elections in the country,” she said.
The director said that as a follow-up to the stakeholders’ engagement workshop, her organisation is also organising a hackathon to seek technology-driven solutions to address the challenges of election management in the country.
While delivering his presentation, a tech expert and Director of Partnerships of the organisation, Mr. Wale Bakare, noted that “in this increasingly AI-driven world, it is imperative for electoral stakeholders to understand the operations of these new technologies so as to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the electoral process.”
He disclosed that technology, particularly AI tools, will shape future elections around the world, including Nigeria, adding that AI has the potential to either positively or negatively impact the electoral process. Bakare, however, urged actors in the electoral process to focus on how to deploy AI tools to improve the electoral system rather than undermine it.
Speaking further, the tech expert revealed that one of the ways AI could impact the integrity of the electoral process was through the dissemination of fake news and harmful content like deepfakes. He explained that while disinformation about fake news and hate speech is not new, they can now be created and disseminated on a large scale with AI tools.
Bakare, therefore, called on electoral stakeholders, especially CSOs and the media, to create more awareness on the dangers of fake news while also calling on Nigerians to always verify sources of information before sharing them online.
On his part, the Head of Public Affairs Unit and Protocol Officer of INEC in Kwara, Abdulkadir Bolaji Ibrahim, said the electoral body was open to exploring innovative solutions to increase participation in the electoral process and improve the transparency and integrity of elections.
He, however, charged CSOs to work with the Commission to improve voter education to increase voter turnout in upcoming elections, noting that the increase in voter registration did not adequately reflect voter turnout in the 2023 general elections. Ibrahim also disclosed that INEC was undertaking efforts to enable inmates in correctional centres across the country to participate in future elections.
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