The Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has said that embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other innovative technologies will facilitate a timely dispensation of Justice by Nigerian Courts.
Prof. Pantami made this statement at a seminar on ‘Banking and Related matters for Judges’ held at the National Judicial Institute Abuja.
The seminar with the theme: “Strengthening the Quality of Judicial Systems and Banking Operations Through Innovations”, aims at equipping judicial officers and other stakeholders, featured technical presentations on ‘Cyber Security and the Courts, Safeguarding the Banking and Judicial Processes, as well as Contemporary Legal issues in Electronic Commerce in Nigeria’.
Speakers’ presentations were focused on how Judges can effectively handle cyber security and scam cases especially with regards to E-commerce. It was believed that skills building in this sphere will help reduce the sprout of scammers and cyber criminals.
Professor Pantami, who was represented by the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, noted that the choice of the theme and timing of the seminar is apt, considering the recent increase in cyber and financial crimes in the country, hence the need for increased knowledge and skills acquisition for Judges especially on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other related innovations.
He said AI is currently doing what human beings can do, adding that “Before, human can think and make decisions but today we have systems that can make decisions like the way we do by using available data.
Pantami said “We live in a world that is increasingly integrated with technology, and it is very difficult to separate our online life and offline life, and everything we do is being captured, processed and stored by this big tech companies. So we need utilize our time to develop new ideas that will improve our court proceedings.”
He said people go to social media to buy things, and big tech companies use Artificial Intelligence to advertise products which users have interest in, that clearly showed another method of changing the way people live and interact.
He added that, “Artificial Intelligence has powers, and these powers can be used against or for social Justice, criminal justice and many more. So we need to design a system with legal minds that can solve courts challenges.”
“By 2025, China will commence the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies in its judicial system”, he said. The participants’ attention was drawn to the way ICT is taking over everything and the need to leverage on the vast opportunities it provides in commerce, financial services and our legal system.
Speaking on NITDA’s statutory mandate, Prof. Pantami said NITDA Act of 2007 is to develop the regulations of electronic governance and monitor the use of electronic data interchange and other forms of electronic communication transactions as an alternative to paper-based methods in government, commerce, education, and other field, where the use of electronic communication may improve the exchange of data and information.
