A Professor of Artificial intelligence and Computing at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Lagos State University, Oluwatoyin Enikuomehin has stressed the need for a comprehensive review of national curriculum from primary school through tertiary education to ensure that every Nigerian student develops computational thinking, data literacy, and critical reasoning about digital systems, just as he called for enactment of National AI Act
Enikuomehin currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) made the call while delivering the 127th Inaugural Lecture of the university on Tuesday on its Ojo main campus, titled "Thinking Machines And The Future of Thinking: Cyberphysicalism, the Transformation Of Human Thought and Emergence of an Artificial intelligence Driven Algorithmic Society"
Nigeria according to him, requires a comprehensive legislative framework that is architecturally precise, specifying what governance mechanisms are required at each layer of the Governance Stack for AI systems deployed in each domain of public life.
"Establish a National AI Research and Governance Council: This Council, independent of ministerial control, should evaluate the social impact of AI systems deployed in Nigeria, advise government on AI policy, and represent Nigeria in international AI governance forums"
The inaugural lecturer said Nigerian government must prioritize massive investments in digital infrastructure, saying building quantum-resistant cryptographic infrastructure is not merely a technology investment. It is a national security imperative.
Artificial Intelligence , he maintained, must remain accountable, and technology must continue serving humanity rather than directing it.
"As universities, we carry a unique responsibility. We educate the professionals who will shape this new society. Our graduates must understand Artificial Intelligence irrespective of discipline. Medical graduates must understand AI-assisted healthcare. Law graduates must understand algorithmic governance. Computer scientists must understand not only how to build Artificial Intelligence but also how to govern it responsibly", he stated
The Professor of Artificial intelligence predicted Agentic AI in the future, saying it will go beyond responding to questions but completing various tasks given as well as start explaining itself not just responding questions adding that the society should be ready for AI driven by ambient or every environment
"Right now, when you ask ChatGPT a question, it responds. At its core, it is a highly sophisticated answering machine. What is coming next is a fundamentally different kind of system. Researchers call it Agentic AI: systems that do not merely respond but plan, act, verify, adjust, and persist over time until a goal is achieved"
"Explainable AI, systems that can articulate the reasoning behind their conclusions in language that human beings can interrogate and challenge, is the research frontier that will determine whether AI becomes genuinely trustworthy or merely powerful".
"In the near future, AI will not be something you use. It will be something you are surrounded by. It will be embedded in your body, in your workspace, in your hospital bed, in the road beneath your vehicle, in the classroom walls. It will observe, learn, anticipate, and intervene continuously, not episodically"
Digital literacy programmes he insisted, must reach every segment of the population. High-quality African datasets must be collected, curated, and published with open access.
The don equally recommended among other recommendations, that Lagos State University should establish a dedicated interdisciplinary research centre for AI grounded in African realities, serving as Nigeria’s premier hub for AI research, training the next generation of African AI researchers, and providing the intellectual foundation for AI policy.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Distinguished Professor, Ibilola Olatunji-Bello who described the lecture as highly stimulating, chronicling how human thinking works with machine
She later presented a certificate of presentation to inaugural lecturer, welcoming him to the Senate as member of body of Professors of LASU
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