Only 10 per cent of Nigerian journalists have received formal training on Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, despite 95 per cent using them regularly, the Safer Media Initiative (SMI) has revealed. Peter Iorter, Executive Director of SMI, disclosed this during a training session for journalists in Abuja titled "AI Tools for Journalists: Effective, Responsible and Safe Use." The event is part of SMI's Artificial Intelligence and Media (AIM) Project, "Navigating the Present, Shaping the Future," supported by UNESCO under its International Programme for the Development of Communication.
Iorter warned that the lack of structured training poses serious risks to journalistic ethics and professional standards. "AI is rapidly transforming journalism globally, and Nigerian journalists must not be left behind, but must also not abandon ethical principles guiding the profession," he said. He added that the initiative aims to equip journalists with skills for responsible AI use and to develop a framework guiding newsroom policies on the technology. Similar trainings have already taken place in Lagos and Benin.
Titilope Oparinde, Founder of Generative AI Journalism and training facilitator, stated that AI should be seen as a tool to enhance productivity, not replace journalists. "AI will not replace journalists who know how to use it; it will replace those who refuse to learn how to use it," she said. Oluseyi Olufemi, Country Director of Dataphyte, stressed the need for rigorous fact-checking of AI-generated content and highlighted digital safety concerns, including gender-sensitive risks.
The fact that 95 per cent of Nigerian journalists use AI without proper training exposes a dangerous disconnect between adoption and accountability. Peter Iorter's warning isn't about resisting technology—it's about the absence of guardrails in newsrooms that could compromise truth. If AI tools are shaping news output without clear policies, the public's trust in media may erode faster than the speed of automation. This training is a start, but without mandatory standards across media houses, the gap between usage and understanding will persist.
