Artificial Intelligence in Today’s Media World: The Case of Nigeria By Christie Doyin

By Christie Doyin

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the media and journalism worldwide, transforming content creation, dissemination, audience engagement, and revenue generation.

In Nigeria, AI adoption is reshaping the media landscape, offering new opportunities and challenges in a rapidly evolving digital environment. From automated news writing to AI-powered analytics, Nigerian media houses are integrating AI technologies to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and audience reach.

This feature explores the role of AI in Nigeria’s media industry, examining its impact on newsrooms, ethical concerns, opportunities, and the future of journalism in an AI-driven era

Let’s take it in piecemeal. First, Is the Rise of AI in Global Media

AI is playing a pivotal role in global media, enabling automation in various aspects of journalism. For instance , leading media organisations like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and BBC have adopted AI-powered tools for content generation, audience targeting, and fact-checking, and same it is with many of our media houses across the world.

Some of the most common AI applications in media include: Automated Journalism: AI-powered bots like the Associated Press’s Wordsmith generate financial reports and sports articles with minimal human intervention.

Content Personalisation: AI analyses user preferences to recommend articles, videos, and ads, improving audience engagement.

Fake News Detection: AI tools combat misinformation by fact-checking and verifying sources.

Speech-to-Text and Language Processing: AI transcription services like Otter.ai and Google Speech-to-Text assist journalists in converting audio interviews into written text in matter of minutes.

While these advancements have enhanced media efficiency, AI adoption in Nigeria presents unique challenges, including digital infrastructure limitations, regulatory concerns, and ethical dilemmas.

Secondly, is AI Adoption in Nigeria’s Media Industry

Nigeria, Africa’s largest media market, is gradually embracing AI, with news platforms leveraging automation and machine learning to improve content delivery. Major players such as Punch Newspapers, The Guardian Nigeria, Channels TV, and Premium Times are integrating AI into their operations, just as some other upcoming media organisations.

How Nigerian Media Houses Are Using AI:

Automated News production:
Some newsrooms use AI for quick data-driven reports on stock markets, weather updates, and sports.
Chatbots for News Distribution:
AI chatbots, such as those on WhatsApp and Telegram, are being deployed to deliver news updates and engage with readers.

AI-Powered Social Media Monitoring:
Media outlets use AI analytics to track audience sentiment and trending topics.
Translation and Local Language AI:
AI-driven tools help translate news into Nigeria’s major languages (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo), expanding content accessibility.
Deepfake and Misinformation Detection:
AI-based fact-checking initiatives are helping combat the spread of fake news.
However, AI adoption in Nigerian media is still in its early stages, with limited investments and expertise hindering widespread implementation.

Opportunities AI Brings to Nigeria’s Media Sector

AI presents numerous opportunities for Nigeria’s media industry, offering solutions to some of its biggest challenges, including misinformation, financial constraints, and content distribution.

Enhancing News Accuracy and Fact-Checking
Fake news is a growing concern in Nigeria, especially during elections and crises. AI-powered fact-checking tools such as Full Fact AI and Google’s Fact Check Explorer help verify news sources, reducing the spread of misinformation. Platforms like Dubawa and Africa Check are integrating AI to improve verification processes.

Automating Routine News Tasks
AI can handle repetitive tasks such as summarising press releases, generating weather reports, and providing real-time sports updates. This allows journalists to focus on investigative reporting and in-depth analysis.

Personalisation and Audience Engagement

AI algorithms analyse user behaviour to recommend news articles tailored to individual interests. Nigerian digital news platforms like Pulse Nigeria and TheCable are increasingly using AI to improve user experience.

AI-Powered News Anchors and Virtual Presenters
Internationally, AI news anchors have been introduced in China and South Korea. In Nigeria, AI-powered avatars or virtual news presenters could soon be adopted to deliver news bulletins in different languages and dialects. This may be cause for concern among reporters, as this could led to massive increase in unemployment rate.

Revenue Generation through AI-Driven Advertising
AI is transforming media monetisation through programmatic advertising, where ads are automatically placed based on audience data. Nigerian online media platforms are leveraging AI-powered advert targeting to boost revenue.

Challenges of AI in Nigeria’s Media Industry
Despite its potential, AI adoption in Nigeria’s media sector faces several hurdles.

Limited Digital Infrastructure
AI requires high-speed internet, cloud computing, and advanced software. Nigeria’s unreliable internet connectivity and power supply hinder smooth AI implementation.

High Cost of AI Technology
Developing and maintaining AI-driven media solutions requires significant investment in hardware, software, and training. Many Nigerian media houses struggle with funding, added to salary payments saga, making AI adoption expensive.

Ethical Concerns and Job Losses
AI automation raises concerns about job displacement in journalism. If AI-generated content replaces human journalists, job losses in the media sector could increase, and not just could but certainly will. Many employers will readily disengage their employees.

Misinformation and Deepfake Risks
While AI helps detect fake news, it is also being used to create highly convincing deepfake videos and synthetic content that can mislead the public.

Lack of AI Expertise
Nigeria faces a shortage of skilled AI professionals who can develop and maintain AI-driven media solutions. This limits innovation in the industry.

Regulatory and Legal Concerns
The absence of clear AI regulations in Nigeria poses challenges in data privacy, copyright, and ethical AI use. Policies on AI in media need to be established.

Case Studies: AI in Nigerian Media

Several Nigerian media organisations are already experimenting with AI to improve operations. These include Premium Times, one of Nigeria’s leading investigative journalism platforms, Channels TV, which utilises AI algorithms to analyse trending topics on social media, ensuring real-time news updates and audience engagement. Others are Pulse Nigeria and Legit.ng, they use AI-powered recommendation engines to personalise news feeds, therefore, enhancing audience engagement. There are others but we can stop at these for the purpose of this study.

What is the Future of AI in Nigerian Media?

AI’s influence on Nigeria’s media landscape is set to grow, with emerging trends such as:

Increased Use of AI in Investigative Journalism: AI-driven data analysis will aid journalists in uncovering corruption and complex financial crimes.

AI-Powered Local Language Newsrooms: AI will enable content creation in indigenous languages, expanding media access across diverse communities.

AI and Blockchain for Media Trust: Blockchain-integrated AI tools may help verify news authenticity, reducing fake news proliferation.

Regulatory Frameworks for AI in Media: Nigerian policymakers may introduce AI regulations to address ethical concerns and data privacy issues.

Christie Doyin, a veteran journalist, writes from Ilorin via cdoyinronk@gmail.com

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