The collaboration seeks to improve commercial relations while guaranteeing the safe, secure, transparent, and reliable application of AI.
In order to investigate possible collaboration opportunities, the United States of America (U.S.A.) and Nigeria are prepared to have talks about the digital economy, cutting-edge technology, and the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
This information was disclosed by Mr Arthur Brown, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, during the concluding ceremony of a four-day Workshop on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in Abuja. Senior U.S. government officials would meet in Abuja in two weeks, according to Brown, for a conference hosted by the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission.
The deputy chief of mission gave more information about the next meeting and stated that the US plans to hold an AI conference in Lagos in order to leverage the momentum created by a four-day workshop.
The collaboration seeks to improve commercial relations while guaranteeing the safe, secure, transparent, and reliable application of AI. Brown stated that the US is willing to work with Nigeria as equal partners to boost talent development, infrastructure, research, and innovation projects through its many agencies. He praised Nigeria for supporting a major UN resolution on artificial intelligence and pledged to continue the U.S. government’s economic cooperation with Nigeria.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, stressed the need for African leaders and governments to act decisively in order to support their strategies and aspirations in his closing remarks at the workshop.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis estimates that by 2030, artificial intelligence could boost the world economy by $15.7 trillion, with $3 trillion coming from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion from new products and services.
Speaking about expected revenue generation and job creation, Tijani stressed that Nigeria should prioritise developing efficient governance for AI, acknowledging that it is a crucial instrument to improve productivity across industries, rather than putting revenue first.
The Ministry organised a four-day Artificial Intelligence workshop in collaboration with the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to create a cooperative framework for deploying AI in the country.
Nigeria’s first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM) was introduced during the four-day artificial intelligence workshop, marking a significant step towards the nation’s aspiration to become the forefront of artificial intelligence development in Africa.
The Nigerian government invited internationally recognised professionals who have worked in the Nigerian market, along with scientists of Nigerian descent, to participate in the development of its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in August 2023.