Dons EzeBART NNAJI SETS UP ROBOTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE IN NIGERIA
BART NNAJI SETS UP ROBOTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE IN NIGERIA Nigeria will soon have an institute dedicated to studying robotics and artificial intelligence, thanks to a team of scientists and engineers led by Professor Bart Nnaji, founder and Chairman of the Geometric Power Group. Nnaji, a former Minister of Science and Technology who later served as the Minister of Power, disclosed the establishment of the institute yesterday at a lecture to mark the 100th anniversary of Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, owned by the Catholic Church in Anambra and Enugu states. Nnaji, who did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Artificial Intelligence before becoming a Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Director of the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and then moved to the University of Pittsburgh to lead a consortium of universities on a research programme funded by the United States National Science Foundation, told the audience that the federal government has successfully scrutinised the institute through the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). He revealed that the institute’s application was made in 2017, and it took the government four years to establish that “it is in the national interest to have such an advanced facility.” He described the objectives of the institute as to engage in the learning and study of computer sciences that teach the technology of intelligent machines and robots and issue certificates to students; to train and issue certification in the design hardware that does some autonomous tasks repeatedly; and to carry out research studies in the development and analysis of algorithms that learn and perform intelligent behaviour with minimal human intervention”. Dike Ejike, a mechanical engineer, power and business consultant in Abuja who attended the Bigard Seminary centenary, explained that “it is remarkable that far-reaching steps were taken to establish the institute in Nigeria long before generative artificial intelligence took the world by storm since November 30 2022 when Sam Altman and his group at OpenA1 launched ChatGTP in the United States which has radically changed the way the world learns, conducts research and does business.” Though Nnaji did not state when the institute would commence operations, the location or structure, Ejike told the audience that “all Nigerians and the government should support this farsighted institute to help galvanise Nigerians into the AI race that has begun to define development in the 21st century”. Disclosing that the Bells University of Technology at Otta in Ogun State where he serves as the Governing Council chairman has just approved the establishment of an artificial intelligence centre, Nnaji called on the Nigerian government to prioritise Science Technology Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) subjects for Nigeria to leapfrog in developmental terms, citing the example of Vietnam which now produces 90,000 STEM talents annually, still, the pool is grossly inadequate for leading technology companies like Invidia and Apple which are competing for greater operations in the country. “Nvidia”, recalled the famous scientist, “was established in 1993 by a team led by 30-year-old Jansen Huan, originally from Taiwan, and it made a stupendous $15.3 billion profit last quarter alone whereas Nigeria, a country of over 200m people, makes not more than $25 billion from crude oil sales annually”. He counselled that world-class economics and management programmes be introduced in the country to enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness, adding that even leading scientific institutions like NASA need excellent managers to remain well-run and business leaders need a basic knowledge of global economics to do well. Nnaji, winner of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), the nation’s highest honour for academic and artistic achievement, also called on the authorities of Bigard Memorial Seminary to consider upgrading the 100-year-old institution’s…
GLOBAL IT OUTAGE HITS BANKS, AIRLINE OPERATIONS, COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD
GLOBAL IT OUTAGE HITS BANKS, AIRLINE OPERATIONS, COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD Businesses including banks, airlines, train companies, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets have been taken offline following a mass global outage. Major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have been grounded, while airports in Germany, Amsterdam and Spain are also reporting issues. It is believed the issue is related to an issue at global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and Microsoft – although it is unknown if it is the same issue affecting airports and train services across the globe. Microsoft said on Friday morning that it was continuing to address the “lingering impact” of its 365 applications and services that are in a “degraded state” while Crowdstrike said in an automated message that it was aware of reports of crashes. The outage appears to be affecting Windows PCs globally, including Sky News in the UK which not able to broadcast live TV first thing on Friday morning. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, warned customers of potential disruptions which it said would affect “all airlines operating across the network,” though it did not specify the nature of the disruptions. While passengers at Edinburgh Airport were unable to use automated boarding pass scanners and monitors at security displayed a message saying “server offline”, according to a Reuters witness. The airport had reverted to checking boarding passes manually, the witness said. The Metropolitan Police said it has not been affected, and everything seems to be working normally. Train cancellations likely Also in the UK, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern – all four of Govia Thameslink Railway’s brands – said its services were experiencing widespread IT issues. “We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks,” the company said. “Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.” National Rail said its IT teams are “actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem”. Out-of-date prices at London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange is among the businesses that have been affected by the global outage, Sky News’ business correspondent, Ian King, said. A statement posted on the exchange’s website early said that a technical issue was being investigated with the publication of RNS – the exchange’s Regulatory News Service – announcements. When trading began at 8am this morning, the exchange’s website was still showing prices from the close on Thursday evening and continues to do so.The FTSE-100 opened 50 points lower – around 0.62% – at the open but no prices were available on the exchange’s website, King said.