The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) division, under its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department.

The commission disclosed this in a statement by Sam Olumekun, the national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Olumekun said that the division was to allow the commission to continue to harness the positive aspects of AI and mitigate its negative impact on elections. 

He said that the commission at its Thursday regular weekly meeting, among other issues, considered the increasing relevance of AI to elections and electoral activities in Nigeria and across the world.

The national commissioner said that recently, INEC attended several conferences with colleagues around the continent, on the impact of AI on elections.

He said that the interactions were not only motivated by the concern over the use of AI to spread fake news or manipulate content online, but also to utilise its benefits for data-driven decision-making, risk detection and mitigation.

Mr Olumekun said that AI had also helped in deepening voter services automation and geo-spatial intelligence, in support of logistic optimisation for better material distribution and polling unit allocation.

“Consequently, the commission approved the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Division under the ICT Department, to continue to harness the positive aspects of AI and mitigate its negative impact on elections.

“The division will enable the commission to better coordinate and maximise existing technology investments, through centralised AI governance.

“It will also enhance decision-making through data-driven insights, risk management and voter engagement.

“Furthermore, it will strengthen electoral credibility through predictive analytics, automation and intelligent safeguards,” he said.

Mr Olumekun said that the initiative put the commission in the forefront of institutionalising AI capabilities within its ICT infrastructure.

He also described it as an important step in INEC’s ongoing reform of the electoral process, in areas that only required administrative action by the commission. 

(NAN)