Victor Ezeja
With the increasing pervasive influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), communication scholars and professionals have called for the design and implementation of a national policy on AI deployment in fact-checking to deal with the challenges of misinformation, disinformation and other ethical issues in digital communication.
The call was made during 11th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThemed “Digital Communication and Governance in Africa,” the conference was held between 4th and 5th September 2024.
The communication scholars and practitioners called on governments at state and federal levels to collaborate with big tech companies, government agencies, civil society organisations and academics in developing policies on AI, fact-checking, and verification for the purpose of ensuring good governance.
According to a communiqué signed by ACSPN General Secretary, Dr Solomon Abiodun Oyeleye, the experts deliberated on issues about communication scholarship and practice in Nigeria and the way forward.
While delivering the keynote address, titled “Digital communication and governance in Africa,” Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times, highlighted the challenges of news media industry in Africa such as funding and information disorder. Mr Olorunyomi stressed that the challenges demand the attention of all stakeholders in the media and communication space such as media scholars, practitioners, government, and civil society among others.
The media entrepreneur noted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds great prospects for quality public service delivery, inclusivity, good governance, growth and accountability. He however cautioned that AI must be deployed ethically to avoid privacy violations and ensure good governance.
Earlier, in his opening address, Professor Umaru Pate, who is the ACSPN President and Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, stated that one of the ways to build and sustain communication scholarship and practice is by building and sustaining network and relationship among scholars and practitioners.
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Chairman of the conference, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, in his opening remarks, stated that the process of digitalisation of information, good governance and change was very difficult and capital[1]intensive but must be confronted by leaders, scholars and governments at all level.
According to the communiqué, aside from the crises of funding and information disorder, pointed out by the keynote speaker, the conference participants also identified other challenges in communication and scholarship and practice in Africa to include lack of collaboration between government, academics, media and civil society on AI, ethics, threats of deepfake, and good governance; inadequate infrastructure, quality of data, access, cultural complexities that need to resolved to enable digital communication and good governance.
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The group called on Communication scholars and practitioners to continuously engage in research partnerships that will build communication institutions, literature, researches that are central to sustenance of communication scholarship and practice in Nigeria.
“Scholars and practitioners should engage in interdisciplinary collaborative research, learning and practices between Mass Communication, Computer Science and other disciplines.
“Governments at state and federal levels should develop policies on AI, fact-checking, and verification. This should be done in collaboration with big tech companies, government agencies, civil society organisations and academics.”
They also called on Communication institutions in Africa to establish newsrooms and laboratories managed by professors of practice, who will teach the next generation of journalists and other practitioners in media and communication industry.
The Conference which took place at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja was in partnership with Lagos State University (LASU), Covenant University, Caleb University, Crescent University, Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Olabisi Onabanjo University, International Press Centre, Ajayi Crowther University, D. S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic and Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
