Conference Paper

A REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE USE OF AI IN NIGERIA

Abstract The philosophical study of knowledge engineering or artificial intelligence has been long to philosophy of mind and is rooted in the philosophy of computer science that explores computational intelligence and its implications for human understanding and knowledge about “consciousness”, “ethics”, “intelligence”, “epistemology” and the “concept of freewill”. As AI is now a discipline of considerable global interest to scholars and philosophers especially as a phenomenon that relates to the creation of artificial life and creations; these factors has also underscored the need to interrogate the emergence, values, ethical and social acceptability of the new scientific and technological phenomenon. Amongst other issues, the philosophy of AI interrogates human concerns and questions such as • Can a machine develop a mind on mental consciousness the way human being do. • Is the human intellect or brain the same as machine intelligence? • Can a machine resolve existential problems the same way that a human person would solve same by thinking? Questions identified above has continued to generate different reactions from cognitive scientists, philosophers and AI experts across the world. By reviewing existing qualitative and exploratory secondary data points including government policy materials, the internet and documents from the governmental sources this paper argued that a successful application and use of AI in Nigeria still faces a number of challenges ranging from infrastructural deficiencies, unreliable internet accessibility, absence of electricity and exorbitant prices of computer system. This paper therefore recommended that creation of awareness, bridging the existing skill gaps in Nigeria's tertiary education system, adequate funding, and training of AI teachers and data scientists’, policy makers and the public is the positive path to follow to achieve the needed alignment between philosophy, AI, human needs and values. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Philosophical World Views and Implications for Nigeria