 Welcome back. It's time for our second hot topic. I want to take a look at the role that AI can play in our development. In recent years, growing enthusiasm in technology on the continent, particularly among the youth, is bringing technology closer to places they are needed. However, the gap to the field remains wide, largely on account of limited investments, infrastructure, and policies to drive growth. I guess this morning is Dominic Rume Urure, certified blockchain architect and metaverse expert. Hello Dominic. Yeah, hello. Good morning. Thanks for having me. It's good to have you join us. I think we should start by finding out what is the difference between AI and Siri, and also Google's Alexa. Okay, that's a very interesting question. Actually, there is no difference between artificial intelligence and Google Siri, or Apple Siri, or Alexa itself. Now, the thing is, these different names that you just called, they're actually AI assistants that help people to make their life better. They help people to be able to get things. Artificial intelligence basically is a tool that helps you to get your life better, helps you to enhance what you are doing, and currently shortcuts the process of maybe something that you're meant to do. It helps you to automate that particular thing. And this is what Siri and Alexa helps us to do with voice command. So at the moment today, a lot of artificial intelligence interacts with them using maybe text. But with these different tools that you just called Alexa and Siri, you can interact with them using a voice command prompt. So it can only get better from interacting with these different artificial intelligence platforms. Alright, so feeling the tech gap is a major issue right now, isn't it? How do we feel it? How does Nigeria and indeed Africa feel that gap? So we don't lag behind. Because our counterparts in the West, we know where they are. How do we bridge that gap? Yes, it is actually a very important question that needs to be asked, especially at this critical stage of the nation's digital transformation. When you look at it, the national blockchain policy was launched about on the 3rd of May, 2023. And then when you look at artificial intelligence, in this case, as a new technology coming up, you can imagine that Nigeria artificial intelligence can transform the health sector. It can create job opportunities. It can improve governance. It can boost agricultural output. Also imagine Nigeria where maybe artificial intelligence can help tackle depressing social and environmental issues. Maybe such as poverty, insecurity, climate, corruption. In Nigeria too, you can imagine Nigeria where artificial intelligence can actually unleash creativity, talent and potential effects people. And this is not a fantasy truly. It's already a vision that we are working towards because we understand that artificial intelligence is not just a technology. It is a tool that helps you to live through traditional stages of development and engage Nigeria to the forefront of new global workforce. Actually, at our global event for artificial intelligence and blockchain mastery last month, we showed these practical processes and to make this vision a reality, we need a better national blockchain artificial intelligence policy that can provide a clear direction, strategy and a framework for enough ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in the country. We actually need maybe a policy that can address the challenges, the risk that artificial intelligence poses, such as maybe data security, human rights, transparency, skills and education because artificial intelligence is a powerful technology that can bring many benefits to Nigeria if it is deployed in a safe, fair and positive way. Okay. How much of investments are going into tech in this country? Is it enough? At the moment, from the data I gathered a few days back, in Africa, currently, we have about 30% of the investment going into digital transformation projects. At the moment, when you look at the growing population of about 60%, which is a young population for Africa, we can say it is a bit fair that the percentage is going into that particular type of investment. I don't want to be specific with Nigeria. I think we need to actually increase the type of investment going into our infrastructure facilities, especially with artificial intelligence. If we want to be able to automate the systems of the future, get the education, the workshops that are needed to actually learn how can a nest-artificial intelligence for good, then we need to actually increase more of what is currently going into the infrastructure and development of artificial intelligence in Nigeria. In my last book from Code to Consciousness, when bridging the gap between artificial intelligence and human for powerful results, I was sharing some insight on how artificial intelligence can be the game changer in Nigeria's development and education, workshops, practical sessions, just like what I told you we did last month, and needed to actually learn how a nest-artificial intelligence can shape the future. Talk to us more about some of these things you just talked about. You wrote in your book. Okay, so when I say it can be a game changer for Nigeria's development, and you talk about something like artificial intelligence can help for maybe corruption and all that, you can see that, let's talk about the healthcare sector, for example. We can see a company like one in Lagos called Better Life at the moment, they help to be able to see that. They use artificial intelligence to identify blood patterns, a way that, okay, let's say you have victims that really need blood, the one that needs this blood best, the quantity that needs this, the quantity of blood he needs per time, so that you don't even waste this particular type of product. This is already something that has been used in the health sector here in Nigeria, and a lot of people are actually adopting this. In Lagos, we have some traffic lights that are working using artificial intelligence at the moment. In Lagos? Yes, in the government, when you have artificial intelligence in the system, you will see that it reduces things like padding, it reduces things like fraud, theft, corruption, people will not be able to achieve the system, and artificial intelligence can just help to make the processes of the governance actually better, and you can see that this thing will reduce a lot of risk and give much more accountability and transparency. How much have you been able to penetrate into the system, you particularly, and maybe the group that you work with? Okay, currently, like speaking from the perspective of an auto, I have been able to go deep into the system, let's say, about, because it's a very deep field, let's say I'm there at the moment about 50%. I hope to be able to grow my skills to the highest level of it, because, you know, in the words of Mike Asilo, once in every five years, a revolutionary technology comes and changes everything, and when you learn how to be able to be a master of that technology, you become an immortal. Same thing as the transformation is happening to me already. That's how the transformation will happen to Africa, to Nigeria. If we're able to actually go with this technology for the next five years, this technology went mainstream last year. So we still have about four years to capitalize on it, just like when the blockchain came out. You can see that in 2018, a lot of companies were talking about blockchain, blockchain, blockchain, and they saw the price of their stock go up. In 2023, NVIDIA stock shut up by 30% in one day. That does not happen in the stock market. That was because during that last quarter meeting, they used artificial intelligence to be able to anchor that particular meeting, which is currently the new buzzword. So it is something that is not going anywhere soon, and if people are actually able to take advantage of it and immortalize it now, Nigeria can actually be a first mover. I also saw too that Africa is actually one of the second continents in the world that is heavily now invested in the Australian intelligence development and putting policies to make sure that it gets its system better and working using artificial intelligence. Well, thank you so much Dominic Rume for your time and insights. Quite interesting the things you just revealed to us this morning. Thank you very much. I'm extremely grateful. All right. Well, that's the much you can give you this morning on the breakfast, but not without giving you the quote for the day, success in creating AI will be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last unless we learn how to avoid the risks. According to Stephen Hawking. Well, I am Maureen Menon-Wizigui. Thank you for being a part of the show this morning. Do join us again tomorrow for another edition. Goodbye.