By Enyichukwu Enemanna
US authorities have urged regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to adopt responsible measures in the use of military artificial intelligence (AI) to minimize human bias.
At a visit in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Wednesday where she met with ECOWAS officials as part of the United States’ commitment to deepen security cooperation in Africa, the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability, Mallory Stewart reiterated the readiness of US to ensure compliance with international laws in the use of AI in military.
She told journalists that the US government has been working with 55 nations, including African nations, “to agree upon responsible uses of AI in the military context, using AI in a manner consistent with international laws [and] recognizing inherent human bias.”
West African countries have been battling Islamic extremist groups, including the ISIS-linked Boko Haram that has sacked several communities, holding swathe of territory in the North East region of Nigeria and recently North West where banditry has heightened.
According to a 2023 report by the Global Terrorism Index, sub-Saharan Africa is an epicenter of terrorism, accounting for nearly 60% of terror-related deaths.
It is unclear whether the terror groups are using AI.
“We’ve learned the hard way [that there is] inherent human bias built into the AI system … leading to maybe misinformation being provided to the decisionmaker,” she said.
She said the goal “is to hear from as many countries as possible that are at the stage of working in artificial intelligence to their military to see how we can minimize the risks.”
Nigerian military authorities have called for the adoption of artificial intelligence in dealing with security concerns across the West African nation especially terror-related crimes and rampaging kidnapping.
They have also acknowledged that adopting AI will require Africa-specific policies.
Security experts believe that the use of AI in military operations enhances performance.
