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The former deputy rector, Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Dr. Omobayo Raheem has described poverty in developing nations as a challenge that deprive them from tapping into the gains of artificial intelligence (AI).
Dr. Raheem made the declaration while delivering the 17th Inaugural lecture of the college, titled “Capacitance of Artificial Intelligence: Communication, Framing, and Learning in a Growing Economy,” at the Yusuf Grillo Auditorium.
He posited that poverty is a major constraint to national growth, as it serves as an obstacle to a competitive and robust economy, noting that it has been widely recognized as a state of multidimensional deprivations staring the poor in the face.
According to him, “eradicating poverty in all its ramifications, in forms and dimensions, in penury and abject poverty, should be considered as the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable economic growth in a developing nation that wishes to tap into the gains of artificial intelligence.”
The don in Mass Communication explained that AI has become more popular and an integral part of everyday human life and engagements, influencing how we work, communicate, and interact with technology.
Dr. Raheem highlighted AI as a powerful tool for intensifying communication and improving teaching and learning when used responsibly and strategically, noting that with the right infrastructure and guidance, AI can foster creativity, critical thinking, and increased computational capacity.
He affirmed that “since we now live in the age of digitization and globalization, AI cannot but play the role of a master key in inclusively growing our economy, expanding communication, and broadening learning.”
AI, he said, is a field of science concerned with building computers and machines that can see, hear, interpret, learn, and act in such a way that would normally have required human intelligence, or on scales exceeding what human can sometimes analyze.
The former Deputy Rector further stressed that AI is a set of technologies that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, including the ability to see, understand, and translate spoken and written language and analyze data and make recommendations. It is the backbone of innovation in modern computing, unlocking value for businesses, corporate bodies, and bilateral engagement, and much more.
Raheem averred that AI has come to stay, and it holds significant importance due to its transformative impact on various aspects of lives and is no longer a futuristic concept but a current reality reshaping industries across the globe. Individuals, companies, factories, and even entire economies are making the best use of it, and Nigeria cannot afford to be aloof or lag behind.
However, the lecturer pointed to other challenges hindering developing nations’s ability to tap into AI’s full potential, such as integrity, copyright, plagiarism, energy, insecurity, corruption, and terrorism.
Raheem urged media professionals to leverage AI tools for story framing and content generation, noting that these tools can enhance both productivity and message clarity.
The rector of Yaba College of Technology, Dr. Engr. Ibraheem Abdul, who doubles as the chairman of the lecture, eulogized the college’s 17th inaugural lecture for delivering a well-researched paper that is of immense benefit to the nation’s development.
He said that the lecturer successfully presented a contemporary work to demonstrate his research activities over the years and commended him for a wonderful, interesting, and thought-provoking lecture.
“I congratulate Dr. Raheem for his brilliant lecture; he has made a worthy contribution to knowledge and indeed fulfilled an academic obligation. Well done, and more power to your elbow.”
For paying what is due to the college by delivering a problem-solving lecture, the rector discharges and acquits Dr. Omobayo Raheem from the academic debt owed to the college.
He, however, presented a plaque of excellence to the lecturer as the 17th inaugural lecturer of the college.
Dignitaries at the inaugural lectures include the Aseyin of Iseyin land, Oba Sefiu Olawale Oyebola Adeyeri III, Baale of Abule-Ijesha, Alhaji Haruna Alli Dawodu, former Lagos State gubernatorial aspirant Chief Jimi Agbaje, among others.
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