Chairman Lucky Uwakwe of Nigeria’s Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee (BICCoN) recently stressed the vital role of artificial intelligence (AI) in safeguarding endangered African languages.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Uwakwe emphasized the pressing need to preserve these languages, which are at risk of disappearing due to various social and economic factors. He cited the example of languages in Plateau State, Nigeria, where communities have been displaced by insecurity, leading to the scattering and decline of their languages.
Uwakwe underscored the importance of ensuring that no language is lost or extinct, suggesting that technological advancements such as AI and blockchain could be instrumental in achieving this goal. He also pointed out a significant gap in language support from major global tech companies.
This challenge is not limited to Nigeria but extends across numerous African languages. Uwakwe advocates for the use of AI and blockchain technologies to safeguard and revive endangered languages.
By integrating blockchain with AI, communities can be incentivized to speak and document their native languages, earning tokens in the process. These data sets can then be used to train AI models to understand and support these languages, ensuring their survival and integration into future technological advancements.
Uwakwe’s dedication to this cause is further demonstrated by his recent appointment as the LingoAI community ambassador for Nigeria and Africa. As the CEO of Sabi Group, Uwakwe has been a proponent of blockchain and Web3 solutions throughout the continent.
This is not the first instance of a Nigerian official endorsing the use of blockchain and AI to enhance various aspects of society. In June, the chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, highlighted blockchain technology and AI as tools to combat illicit financial flows in Africa.
In April, Nigeria launched its first multilingual large language model (LLM) through the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, as part of its efforts to establish a leading position in AI development in Africa.
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