300 SECONDS with Jake Okechukwu Effoduh
Human Rights Lawyer with a passion for Artificial Intelligence.
Meet Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, Legal Practitioner and Human Rights Lawyer with a passion for Artificial Intelligence. We sat down for 300 Seconds with Jake to talk about his motives for delving into Artificial intelligence Research & what that looks like for Africa, Human Rights activism and his career in Law.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF?
My name is Jake Okechukwu Effoduh. My research looks into how the fourth industrial revolution technologies such as AI can help or aid human rights activism in Africa.
YOUR RESEARCH LOOKS INTO HOW 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (4IR) TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAN AIDE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM IN AFRICA, WHAT IS THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION?”
It is simply the fourth major industrial era since the first industrial revolution which took place in the 18th century. The world has gone through or has experienced four major revolutions. The first was the use of steam engines for mechanical production, the second was where we utilised electricity and we discovered the concept of division of labour to create mass production, the third was the development of IT, Information technology and the Internet. I think this grew in the middle of the last century and then, of course, the current industrial revolution which is the fourth; 4IR, and this is where we are right now. Where we are witnessing a digital transformation that is pervasively impacting every work of life across the globe.
Now the 4IR is where we are witnessing this technological transformation that is inevitably affecting the way that we live, the way that we interact, the way that we work and it’s recognised by this astounding confluence of emerged and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Nano technology, biotechnology, Quantum computing, 3D printing, Machine learning, Blockchain which is very common in Fintech in Nigeria, Internet of Things, you name it.
These new technologies, these coming-of-age technological watershed is what we refer to as the fourth industrial revolution. It has augmented previous industrial revolutions particularly in terms of advancing the agricultural era, the industrial era, the information era and now we are in this fourth industrial revolution era where there is all this new technologies to explore. So that’s what I mean, or that’s what people mean I think when they talk about the fourth industrial revolution.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH IN LEGITIMIZING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN AFRICA?
My current research is looking at asking this question, I’m particularly trying to find out how activist forces in Africa are using Artificial Intelligence to advance the pursuit and the realisation of human rights within the continent.
Now the purpose of my investigation is I want to discover if and how AI, which is a product of the fourth industrial revolution can be used to advance human rights within the continent. I know that’s broad, but within that central objective I’m also going to analyse and theorise the potential for AI to mitigate what we call in literature the popular legitimisation crisis that activist forces like CSOs and the rest are facing on the continent. So my work is pretty much to use the data that I will get from the field to propose a way forward by which AI can engage with the legitimisation of activist forces but also advancing the pursuit of human rights within the continent.
IN PRACTICAL TERMS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR AFRICA?
So from research, several reports have said that in terms of adopting AI, African countries are slow or that we have a low AI adoption rate, but this position is changing really fast because, in the last six years, several African countries have started to bring a modest acceptance of AI into various aspects of their governance structure and institutions. In a paper that I wrote, I characterised Africa’s adoption of AI as an AI normative emergence in Africa. We’re just emerging, and we’re doing it fast actually. There are about seven ways that African countries are beginning to adopt and adapt Artificial Intelligence within its structures. You have almost seven countries in Africa that now have national AI strategies, we have nine countries in Africa that have established either an AI agency, or an AI commission or an AI task force.
Nigeria for example, we just commissioned our National AI and Robotics Center, national, but we also have a ministry of Artificial Intelligence, even in states like Cross River for example.
You also have a change of laws. So laws are beginning to change to adapt or adopt new regulations that will govern AI, there are a lot of strategic partnerships, a lot of curriculum changes from secondary school, even university level to accommodate AI education training and research. There is also a continental conversation. In fact, at the African Union level, there’s been resolutions that have been passed to accommodate the understanding of Artificial Intelligence and how we in Africa can use these technologies to advance our common development.
So yes, this means a lot for the continent, as you can see we’ve kicked in and joined in the AI train and so we’re making it relevant at our own pace.