Artificial Intelligence and the Transformation of Broadcasting: Implications for Nigerian Broadcast Professionals

Against the backdrop that AI has crept into the global broadcast ecosphere and has held it in one fell swoop, the technological gap that has long been the bane of African countries in general, and Nigeria in particular has been further widened, raising the question regarding how Nigerian broadcast professionals can adopt AI tools with a view to raising the bar of Nigerian broadcasting and making it meet global best practices. This article examines the transformations AI has brought to global broadcasting and underpinned by the technology appropriation paradigm which I propose in view of the peculiarities of the Nigerian sociocultural space, it argues that Nigerian broadcast professionals should appropriate AI tools whilst taking cognizance of such factors as cost, religion, ethnicity, culture and traditions of their audiences. The article also explores the question of Nigerian broadcasting ethics which AI has undoubtedly brought to the fore and highlights the various implications AI-enabled transformations have for Nigerian broadcast professionals. Though Nigerian broadcast professionals are already late to the AI party, the clarion call is made that they should immediately get on board and in the light of this, the critical role of the Nigerian Government regarding the provision of stable power supply and subsidization of the prices of AI tools and ICT gadgets as well as financial commitment from the owners of broadcast stations are reiterated.