World Bank Highlights Benefits of AI to Nigeria, Others

The World Bank has said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help low- and middle- income countries such as Nigeria, to tackle a range of developmental challenges, including boosting financial inclusion and ensuring fair and efficient taxation.

The bank stated this in its “Digital progress and trends report 2023” released late on Tuesday, however, said that: “AI can be either a blessing or a curse for low- and middle-income countries.”

For instance, on how AI can be used to improve financial inclusion, the report said: “Providing access to banking and associated financial services to all is crucial for economic development.

For the longest time, setting up a bank account has involved tedious administrative steps, including identity checks and the registration of tax identification numbers.

It said: “Lack of credit in- formation also complicates risk assessment and limits the access of many people and small and medium enterprises to finance. AI is helping to get around the challenges of identification using tiered know-your-customer approaches to verification that allow an easier way of identifying people using face recognition.

“AI also uses data aggregated from digital activities, including an individual’s social network, call history, and even the top-ups on their mobile phone to evaluate their credit score and offer loans.”