The Nigerian government, via the Ministry of Communication, has announced the launching of a multilingual large language model (LLM).
The initiation of a multilingual large language model (LLM) was carried out by the Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy on behalf of the Nigerian government. Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, announced this after the four-day AI symposium in Abuja.
The development of the AI model was the result of a collaborative effort involving Awarritech, an AI firm based in Nigeria, DataDotOrg, an international technology firm, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the National Center for AI and Robotics (NCAIR).
Dr. Tijani emphasized that the model was trained in five low-resource languages and high-end English to aid in representing low-resource languages in AI datasets. Furthermore, this endeavor is propelled by the involvement of over 7,000 individuals who are part of the 3MTT program in Nigeria, thereby augmenting the caliber of AI advancement and implementation within the nation.
The AI model was unveiled concurrently with the presentation of Nigeria’s National AI Strategy draft, the product of an extensive consultation process involving more than 120 AI specialists. This approach delineates Nigeria’s preparedness to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to foster economic growth and effective governance.
A portion of the project’s initial funding, amounting to $3.5 million, was provided by both local and international partners. This consists of $1.5 million in direct funding and an additional $2 million contributed by 21st Century Technologies. The notable backers are the UNDP, UNESCO, and prominent multinational technology corporations such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft. This fund will support the development of AI systems and pilot initiatives in Nigeria.
Moreover, the United States has expressed interest in establishing a collaborative alliance with Nigeria to explore potential digital economy developments and artificial intelligence developments. This alliance is anticipated to stimulate economic expansion and facilitate the transparent, secure deployment of AI technologies.
NCAIR, a pivotal establishment of this endeavor, has undergone substantial renovations to promote AI research and development. Having gained access to over 2,500 virtual CPUs that are linked to 1 petabyte of storage at GBB, the center’s computational capacity has been increased. These enhancements enable many operations, including enterprise and government AI research, remote connections between AI centers and pods within Nigeria, and additional activities.
Furthermore, NCAIR will be able to aid scholarly investigations and projects of national significance by introducing a fresh commitment to reporting and publishing outcomes of all undertaken projects. In addition to strengthening the local AI infrastructure, the initiative lays the groundwork for the continued development and application of AI in the most vital sectors of the economy.
