Experts in Lagos urge schools and professionals to embrace artificial intelligence responsibly, balancing innovation with critical thinking and ethics

Artificial Intelligence must be embraced with caution in schools and workplaces, education and technology experts have advised, stressing the need for critical thinking and ethical awareness over blind reliance on emerging tools.

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The call was made during a quarterly open conversation titled “Artificial Intelligence: Turning Disruption into Advantage,” held recently at Bature, Victoria Island, Lagos, as part of Thinking Reimagined, a talk concert founded by Dr Ama and presented by Live Abundantly.

Explaining the idea behind the initiative, Dr Ama said the project was conceived in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to promote meaningful dialogue that drives personal and social transformation.

“The pandemic destroyed people’s lives, and people were looking for an avenue to have conversations,” she said. “I thought, what better place than Bature, where we could be outdoors and discuss ways to make real commitments to ourselves and society? I couldn’t have done it without the support of the Live Abundantly trustees.”

On the transformative impact of technology, Dr Ama emphasised that Artificial Intelligence is shaping the future of work and business.

“The future of business is in AI. If you’re not using it yet, you’ve got to start now,” she urged. “If we don’t want to get left behind, we have to learn how to use it.

It’s more than copying and pasting—it’s about knowing how to prompt effectively. AI won’t take away your job; it will help you complete tasks faster.”

However, John Todd of Charterhouse Lagos cautioned educators against over-reliance on AI tools, noting that schools must prioritise the development of independent thought and analytical reasoning.

“Our biggest worry is that children may start using AI just to answer questions without developing their own understanding,” he said. “It’s crazy to say ban AI in schools—I don’t support that. But students must study, think, and understand.

“The challenge is learning to use AI responsibly—recognising its fallibility and understanding when it’s ethically appropriate to rely on it. To use it with care would be my stand.”

Adding a global perspective, Eric Oliver, Chief Executive Officer of AidTrace and President of WishKnish, called on African governments to invest in local infrastructure to harness AI’s full economic potential.

“The way humans use food and money is the way AI uses energy and data,” he explained. “Most of the materials used in making chips and power supplies come from West Africa, yet they’re extracted and shipped abroad for processing. We must change that.”

Oliver argued that by developing local processing capacity, African nations could retain more value within the continent and strengthen their economies.

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The panel agreed that while Artificial Intelligence offers vast opportunities for innovation, productivity, and education, the technology must be adopted thoughtfully—anchored on human creativity, ethics, and problem-solving.