Author: Michael O Oke

The United States Consulate General in Lagos has backed a Nigerian-led initiative to develop standards for disclosing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism, as media professionals seek to strengthen transparency and public trust. The initiative was discussed at a co-design workshop at the consulate on 15 September 2026, where journalists and editors considered how news organisations could consistently inform audiences when AI contributes to news production. Oluwamayowa Tijani, a doctoral researcher at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom and director of projects at the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, convened the project. The proposed framework seeks to establish practical…

Google has expanded access to its SynthID Detector, making the tool available worldwide in English to help identify images, videos, and audio created with artificial intelligence (AI). Google DeepMind announced the expansion, moving the verification tool beyond its earlier testing phase, which targeted journalists, media professionals, and researchers. The tool helps people determine whether digital media contains SynthID, an invisible watermark embedded in AI-generated content. Google says the detector can identify content created using its own AI systems and those of participating partners, including OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao, with Apple expected to join in the future. The announcement comes as…

The founder and Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, has inaugurated artificial intelligence (AI) technology centres in two secondary schools in Lagos to improve digital education and prepare young Nigerians for emerging opportunities in the technology sector. The facilities, located at Gbagada Senior Grammar School and Lanre Awolokun High School in Gbagada, Lagos, were established by the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation in collaboration with companies within the Zinox Group, including Task Systems, TD Africa, Zinox Technologies Limited and Konga Group. The initiative seeks to provide students and teachers with access to modern computing infrastructure, AI-enabled learning tools and reliable…

When people hear claims that artificial intelligence could one day wipe out humanity, the reactions tend to fall into two camps. Some see it as a serious warning from some of the world’s most respected scientists and technologists. Others dismiss it as science fiction, a distraction from more immediate concerns, or even a conspiracy theory. The scepticism is understandable. In 2024, then-U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly dismissed some of the more dramatic warnings about AI-driven catastrophe as exaggerated, reflecting a broader political view that technological pessimism often overstates risks and underestimates human adaptability. Many policymakers, business leaders and researchers share…

Generative artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st century. From drafting emails and generating code to creating business plans and providing research assistance, AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others have become part of millions of people’s everyday lives. In Nigeria, adoption is accelerating across education, software development, marketing, entrepreneurship, media, and customer service. As more people interact with AI systems daily, an important question has emerged: Are users helping to train these systems without being paid? The question is not merely philosophical. It touches on issues of data ownership, consent,…

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, has called on the Nigerian Army to harness data and artificial intelligence (AI) as strategic assets to strengthen intelligence, improve decision-making, and enhance operational effectiveness in modern warfare. Inuwa made the remarks while delivering a presentation titled “From Data to Decision Advantage: Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfare” at the Nigerian Army’s 4th Data Management and Record Keeping Seminar 2026. Speaking on the role of emerging technologies in defence, the NITDA Director General said artificial intelligence should be viewed as a force…

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has launched V4-Flash, an ultra-low-cost AI model that is rapidly drawing attention across the industry for combining competitive performance with some of the lowest operating costs currently available in the market. The launch is being viewed as the latest move in an increasingly intense global AI price war, as companies race to deliver advanced AI capabilities while driving down costs for developers and businesses. According to research firm Artificial Analysis, DeepSeek’s V4-Flash is now the cheapest well-known AI model to run among major commercial offerings. Lowest-Cost Model Among Major AI Providers Artificial Analysis reported that…

A Nigerian scientist has developed an artificial intelligence-powered flood prediction system designed to improve early warning capabilities and help communities prepare for devastating floods before they occur. The new platform, known as the HydroSense AI Flood Prediction System, uses machine learning algorithms to analyse multiple environmental data sources, including rainfall patterns, river water levels, weather conditions and historical flood records. The goal is to generate more accurate flood forecasts that enable authorities and residents to respond before disasters unfold. Flooding remains one of Nigeria’s most destructive natural disasters, affecting thousands of people every year. Heavy rainfall, overflowing rivers, poor drainage…

UNESCO and LG AI Research have officially launched a free global Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, marking a significant step towards making AI ethics education accessible to learners around the world. The course, titled Empowering Minds: Transforming Lives, was formally unveiled during the Ethics by Design: Industry and Innovation Conference in Seoul, South Korea. Hosted on Coursera, the programme is open to anyone worldwide and has been designed to help professionals, policymakers, researchers, students and developers apply internationally recognised ethical principles throughout the AI lifecycle. The initiative is built around the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial…

The global artificial intelligence race has been radically upended following a major structural shift from East Asia. Beijing-based generative artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot AI has officially released Kimi K3, a mammoth 2.8-trillion-parameter system that now stands as the largest open-weight AI model in existence. Timed to land alongside the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, the sudden breakthrough has challenged the long-held Western consensus that Chinese developers lag months behind their American counterparts. By offering frontier-level performance at a fraction of the cost, Kimi K3 has initiated a profound market reassessment across Silicon Valley and Wall Street regarding the massive…