Govt, private sector should check AI impact on macro economy – ICSAN 

By Henry Uche 

Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has called on the Federal and state governments, innovators as well as the Fintech enthusiasts to collaborate and ensure Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not take a negative toll on macro economy of Nigeria. 

The President/Chairman of Governing Council of ICSAN, Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo, who made this call at the Institute’s 2024 Company Secretaries & Registrars’ Forum held in Lagos recently said while developed economies are using AI for their economic growth and development, experts in AI and related field across board in Nigeria should not hesitate to follow suit. 

 Speaking on the theme “The Implications of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security for Capital Market Operations,” the Institute’s president maintained that while AI has come to stay, it won’t be out of place if the Federal Government comes up with a new commission/agency/council, laws or regulations that would harness and boost human capacity for growth and development.  

“AI has merits and demerits. So we all (including policymakers) need to be proactive to check the impact of AI particularly in the employment sector. If we are not careful, unemployment would get worse because of AI. Its adverse effects are numerous, but we make maximum use of it through strong regulations, policies and programmes. We need systems that would make AI an advantage to us like developed economies.” 

 Ekundayo affirmed that automation of processes through Artificial Intelligence offers undeniable benefits, which include faster performance of tasks, reduction of human errors, easier and safer accomplishments of tasks that require extreme precision, facilitation of new inventions, and elimination of injury in hazardous environment; however, a glaring demerit of AI, (apart from the far-fetched prospect of it taking over the world from humans), is loss of human touch (as in when robots serve food at restaurant) and the dreaded widespread loss of jobs, as a result faster, safer and more efficient AI intervention. 

“It is high time we fashioned out ways to optimally harness the benefits AI has to offer while whittling down any harm it may bring. Remarkably, we all now live in cyber world and the concept of cyber security should naturally be a matter of concern to every sentient being, as it relates to our safety, privacy, finance, and by extension, growth and development individually and collectively.”