Lucky Uwakwe, the esteemed chairman of the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), has ardently championed the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) to safeguard African languages teetering on the brink of extinction.

In a compelling discourse, Uwakwe underscored the imperative to protect these languages, as various socio-economic factors have precipitated a decline in their usage. He illuminated the plight of languages in Plateau State, Nigeria, where pervasive insecurity has dislocated communities, leading to a dispersion and attrition of their linguistic heritage.

The Confluence of AI and Blockchain

Uwakwe envisions a future where no language fades into oblivion, asserting that technological innovations like AI and blockchain hold the key to this vision. He accentuated a significant lacuna in language support from global tech behemoths:

“For instance, in Nigeria, Google only provides translation for 3-4 languages (Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin) out of over 100 languages. The remainder are languishing because software developers lack the requisite training models to support them in crafting new applications.”

Read more: Surge of Investment in AI, Crypto, and Blockchain: $207 Million Infused in 96 Hours

This predicament is not confined to Nigeria but mirrors a more extensive challenge plaguing numerous African languages. To counteract this, Uwakwe advocates for harnessing AI and blockchain technologies to preserve and rejuvenate endangered languages.

By amalgamating blockchain with AI, communities can be incentivized to engage in the active use and documentation of their native tongues, earning tokens in the process. These datasets would subsequently train AI models to comprehend and support these languages, thereby ensuring their perpetuation and inclusion in future technological paradigms.

Nigeria’s Vanguard of Innovation

Uwakwe’s dedication to this cause is further cemented by his recent designation as the LingoAI community ambassador for Nigeria and Africa. As the CEO of Sabi Group, Uwakwe has been at the forefront of promoting blockchain and Web3 solutions across the continent.

This advocacy is not an isolated endeavor. On June 30, Olanipekun Olukoyede, the chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, extolled the virtues of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence as formidable tools to combat illicit financial flows in Africa.

Through Uwakwe’s visionary leadership, Nigeria is poised to spearhead a technological renaissance that not only preserves its rich linguistic heritage but also propels the nation into the vanguard of global innovation.