Ondo monarch asks NISS to develop workable AI template with monarchs to tackle insecurity

By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja

The Osemawe and Paramount ruler of Ondo Kingdom, Oba Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo, has urged the management of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS)  to develop a workable artificial intelligence template for more effective engagement with traditional leaders to enhance Nigeria’s security.

Osemawe stated this at the Bwari, Abuja campus of NISS yesterday when he delivered a lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence, Security and Emerging Economies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects: The Traditional Institutions Perspectives.”

He addressed the participants of the institute’s Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC).

The Monarch’s speech was made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday.

On the occasion, Prof Femi Mimiko, a former vice chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, represented Osemawe.

The Osemawe urged the NISS authorities to investigate the direction of the traditional rulers, who are the closest to the people, and employ artificial intelligence and other techniques to tackle the insecurity scourge in Nigeria.

The Monarch said, “It is evident from the preceding that science, technology, and innovation, which have earned their place as bedrock of human advancement, will continue to shape the direction of human engagement going into the future.

“They collectively would continue to determine the nature of production, distribution, and exchange in all societies.

“It is thus trite that the more invested a country is in these issues, the faster its pace on the development trajectory.

“Al has made a grand appearance as the tool of the now, and of the future, that would ensure that machines become increasingly intelligent and deployable in all aspects of human life — from what we eat to how we fight wars — and therefore promises to continue to be a game changer.

“In the arena of security, it is doubtless that as good people rally to the usage of Al, so do bad people of criminal intents have the leeway to deploy AI.

“This imposes on society the need for more significant investment in science, technology, and innovation to ensure that the state stays ahead of those determined at the usage of the intellect, not for the betterment of humanity, but as a scamming platform.

“The traditional institutions have functioned extensively to secure their jurisdictions over the years. It is evident from how they have been doing that an expansive room exists for collaboration between the security services and the traditional rulers in the evolving scenario.

“First, some form of formalisation is needed to address the roles that the traditional institutions have been performing in the country. This includes the very important arena of security.

“There is also the need for NISS to put more attention to developing its AI and cyber capabilities and infrastructures to stay ahead of criminals.

“It is reported that a country like China has started developing robotic soldiers using Al technology. The USA has set up a Space Force as an arm of its security architecture. These promises to change our current conception of warfare and international engagement.

“It would be apposite for an agency like NISS to be at the vanguard of advising the Nigerian government on what to do about these changing margins of technology and its applicability.

“It is trite that the people reside at the grassroots level. Evidence abounds that the masses have considerable trust in our traditional institutions, which have proved adept at helping with the administration of security at that level.

“It is needful going forward for NISS to develop a workable template for more effective engagement with the traditional leaders to enhance the security of the land

“Above all, a deliberate effort must be made by the government to deepen the interest of our children in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), of course, without neglecting the humanities.

“This would ensure that as a country, nay continent, we can secure a credible space for participation in the evolving Fourth Industrial Revolution,” the Osemawe stated.