Mr Abubakar Suleiman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Limited, has disclosed that it is important for the government and corporate bodies to pay attention to the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to remain competitive in the emerging global economy.
In a keynote address at the just concluded Innovate AI Conference in Lagos themed, ‘Adapting AI For Nigeria, Crafting Intelligent Solutions for Our Unique Landscape,’ Suleiman noted that neglecting AI could jeopardise efforts aimed at enhancing business efficiency and national competitiveness.
He said countries and companies failing to embrace AI risk falling behind, as AI-driven technologies offer the potential for significantly higher productivity.
“If we fail to pay attention to artificial intelligence, all our efforts at the ease of doing business, national competitiveness will come to nought because those who deploy the technology on this scale will be able to deliver higher productivity than we do. And for those of us in the private sector, the same way the country will become less competitive is the same way in which companies that fail to embrace AI will become less competitive, and they will die,” he explained.
The MD of Sterling Bank further underscored the need for nations to formulate sovereign AI strategies and foster ecosystems conducive to AI investment. He also cautioned against the concentration of AI-driven wealth and power, advocating for intentional efforts to ensure equitable distribution and stability in the future.
“Countries that do not have a sovereign strategy around AI, those that do not have an ecosystem that attracts investment in AI, and those that do not provide the roadmap for people to develop this technology stand the risk of being carried away.
“If we do not domesticate this tool there is a high risk that while this technology has so much capability to enhance the capability of those who invested in it, those capabilities will be more powerful in reducing global inequality, improving global healthcare, and giving access to higher quality education,” he argued.
Addressing concerns about AI’s impact on employment, Suleiman urged a shift in perspective, viewing AI as a catalyst for innovation and new opportunities, not as a threat to jobs. He stressed the potential of AI to reshape human intelligence and improve the dynamics between humans and machines.
