2027: Experts advocate AI deployment to safeguard general elections
Information Technology specialists – Folajimi Fakoya, Professor Adenike Osofisan of the University of Ibadan, and Professor Adelaja Odukoya, Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Lagos—have called for the
Information Technology specialists - Folajimi Fakoya, Professor Adenike Osofisan of the University of Ibadan, and Professor Adelaja Odukoya, Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Lagos—have called for the strategic use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure free, fair, and credible elections in 2027.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the University of Ibadan themed "AI and the 2027 General Elections in Nigeria: The Realities, The Fakes and The Absurd," the experts urged the Federal Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other stakeholders to harness AI’s capabilities while remaining vigilant against its risks.
Fakoya emphasized AI’s transformative role in electoral processes, particularly in voter registration, which he described as the most critical phase of any election. He highlighted that AI-powered chatbots could revolutionize voter education by providing real-time guidance to millions of Nigerians simultaneously.
He said, "A single chatbot can respond to over one million queries at the same time. No human can do that. Such platforms could promote inclusivity and boost voter turnout among digitally literate populations.
"AI seamless generative capability can also be smartly explored to produce educational content, even in locally relevant languages."
Fakoya went on to deliver a stark warning about this double-edged technology, describing its capacity to create "digitally true but physically false" content—hyperrealistic fabrications that bypass human instinct.
He explained how such content can be massively targeted and hyper-personalised by algorithms to exploit an individual's specific biases.
He illustrated the danger with critical, yet entirely possible, hypotheticals.
"A voter sees a video of violence at their polling unit on election morning; a party loyalist is confronted with an image of their candidate embracing a rival; a religious follower views a manipulated picture of their spiritual leader, an image calculated to incite violence."
Read Also: Google experts urge African varsities to take lead in AI education reform
Each scenario, he warned, is a tool to tactically suppress voter participation and disenfranchise voters with falsehood by exploiting cultural and ethnic fault lines, fundamentally eroding the trust and loyalty that are the coins of trade in politics, while leaving security agencies impossibly overstretched.
To counter this threat, Fakoya called for legislation compelling social media giants to deploy AI algorithms that detect and visibly "badge" every posted item's provenance, indicating the intensity of AI involvement regardless of resharing.
Citing the Yoruba proverb that "the same white man who made the pencil also made the eraser," he framed AI as requiring urgent transparency measures alongside rapid fact-checking and digital literacy campaigns.
In her remarks, the lead speaker, Professor Osofisan, lamented that election rigging begins not on Election Day but at registration, noting that political parties use agents for vote buying, which AI cannot directly curb.
Also, Professor Odukoya cautioned that while AI's negative use is global, his fear is amplified by Nigeria's weak and desperate institutions.
He stressed that AI will ultimately matter within the context of existing power struggles during elections.
The event, organised by UI Senior Staff Club in collaboration with Diamond FM and UITV, provided a platform for experts to synthesise ideas for safeguarding Nigeria's electoral future against both the promise and peril of artificial intelligence.