Novena varsity VC, Prof Okorafor marks 80th birthday with lectures on AI

The Vice Chancellor of Novena University, Ogume, Delta State, Professor Chris Aniche Okorafor has celebrated his 80^th birthday in style as the august event brought together the erudite professor, his family members and friends, including his former students to intellectual talks and discussions on Artificial Intelligence, AI, and other issues.

In the discussions, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was defined to mean “the automation of activities associated with human thinking, such as decision making and learning, and or the art of creating machines that perform functions that require intelligence when performed by people, like making computers to think.”

It also said that “AI is the study of mental faculties through the use of computer models and or systems that think and act rationally like humans or that it could include the part of computer science concerned with design of systems that exhibit human intelligence.”

Prof Okorafor, who is of Arochukwu descent in the present day Abia State of Nigeria, was born on the 16th day of June, 1938 in Zaria, Northern Nigeria.

The event, held at the Ibeto Hotels, Chinese Restaurant, Gudu District, Abuja, also saw both the celebrant and the guests treated to a sumptuous Buffet.

The birthday celebration saw discussions on areas such as:

1. Celebrating the Teacher of Teachers @ 80 by Prof. Herbert Eziehule
2. Artificial Intelligence & Organizational Agility By Dr. Azubike Okoro with Dr. Orji O. Orji & Dr.

Kalu Ohuche as discussants.

1. Talks on Mazi Prof Chris Aniche Okorafor by Mazi Ben Ezuma.

The report said AI could be applied in areas such as in medicine, education, commerce, transportation and intelligence.

It also said that AI will help to eliminate disease and world poverty. The reports said while Robots, which is a product from a Robotics, and which in turn is a branch of AI, could perform medical diagnosis to deduce cause of disease from observed data; and AI agents performing the tasks humans do in marketing or commerce to Airplanes having autopilots etc.

It said, however, all these are without their threats.

However, the presentations said that, autopilot airplanes, power plants’ control, and automatic cars, Etc will directly displace workers from tasks they were previously performing (displacement.)

The discussions said however that despite the fears and concerns of, especially displacements of real human workers by AI’s robots, that every technological shift, however, has ended up creating more jobs than were destroyed because, “when particular tasks are automated, becoming cheaper and faster, you need more human workers to do the other tasks in the process that haven’t been automated.

The presentations also held that “organizations need to have core processes and systems in place that support the free flow of information, collaboration, accountability, and quick decision making, among other things.

On the need for organizations to embrace AI, it said “organizations need to have core processes and systems in place that support the free flow of information, collaboration, accountability, and quick decision making, among other things.”