By Stephen Simon
Nigeria has ranked 15th out of 56 Commonwealth countries in a new assessment of young people’s readiness to benefit from artificial intelligence, placing the country among only three African nations to meet the study’s readiness benchmark.
The inaugural Ayre Index, unveiled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, scored Nigeria 54.5 out of 100, slightly above the benchmark of 53.
Mauritius and South Africa were the other African countries that met the threshold, while 41 Commonwealth member states fell below it.
The study, which examined conditions affecting about 732 million young people aged between 15 and 29 across the Commonwealth, found that 90 per cent of young Nigerian respondents expected to use AI for education or work within the following year.
It also reported that 67.8 per cent of the respondents felt confident controlling their interactions with the technology.
However, the report identified a major gap between young Nigerians’ enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and their technical capabilities.
Nigeria scored only 0.8 out of 10 in digital, data, media and AI capability under the Index’s selected measures.
The study warned that the country must improve digital skills, employment opportunities and access to technology if it hopes to translate growing interest in AI into productive businesses and sustainable jobs.
It estimated that artificial intelligence could add about $5.2 billion to Nigeria’s GDP over 10 years under a moderate growth scenario.
