–The lecture will herald Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership Awards
This year’s Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership lecture will focus on the role of artificial intelligence in a digital economy with the theme: “Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated.”
The lecture which will herald Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership Awards will be held on May 25, 2024, at Four Points by Sheraton, according to a statement made available to Digital TimesNG on Sunday.
The sixteenth edition of the award ceremony according to Ken Nwogbo, editor-in-chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek the organisers of ABoICT, “is a special edition to recognise and celebrate organisations and individuals in the ICT industry that have been distinguished in delivering innovative services in the sector.
“Most of these organisations and individuals have consistently been voted by our readers as leaders in their areas of operations and we have decided to reward them in this special edition.”
He added that AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution, and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth.
“However, unlike traditional machines, which replaced the use of human and animal labour for simple manual work and heavy or dangerous activities, AI-related inputs may change the type of human work comprehensively.
“In contrast to previous industrial revolutions, AI does not simply involve the invention of a new machine or technology. Instead, AI has similarities to the accumulation of human capital, as it can learn and accumulate knowledge by itself,” he said.
The Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture is designed to explore efforts to put Nigeria on the global Information and Communications Technologies map.
The lecture series, however, is reserved for distinguished achievers in the ICT sector.
Past lecturers at ABoICT included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodun Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode; John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; and Prof. Isa Pantanmi, former minister of Communications and Digital Economy, among others.
