AI can strengthen democracy, not threaten it – INEC chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has defended the proposed use of artificial intelligence in Nigeria’s electoral system, insisting that the technology can strengthen democracy if properly deployed.

Amupitan said artificial intelligence could improve election management through more efficient voter registration, logistics planning, data analysis and the handling of large voter databases.

He spoke on Monday at The Beyond the Ballot Summit in Abuja, where he noted that electoral management bodies across the world were increasingly adopting AI-assisted processes to improve administrative efficiency and election planning.

He said, “Artificial Intelligence, AI, is not an enemy of democracy.”

However, the INEC chairman warned that the growing accessibility of generative AI tools had created opportunities for malicious actors to manipulate voters, spread disinformation and undermine public confidence in elections.

“However, the rabid democratisation of generative AI models has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for malicious actors, capacities, capabilities that want to require speedy-level intelligence resources such as high voice cloning of public figures, hyper realistic synthesis of election officials making false announcements are now accessible at negligible cost. These tools target specific vulnerabilities with distinct timelines,” he said.

His remarks come as INEC prepares to integrate artificial intelligence into Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of the 2027 general election, amid growing concerns about the use of manipulated audio recordings, fabricated announcements and realistic videos to mislead voters.

The debate has gained attention following the discovery of questionable photographs, including images suspected to have been generated by artificial intelligence, in INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters.

The photographs appeared in some voter records in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, raising concerns about the integrity of the voter database and the verification process.

INEC acknowledged the questionable records and announced an investigation into how the images entered the register.

The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, reportedly linked some of the AI-generated images to irregularities allegedly introduced by registration officers with access to the system.

INEC has maintained that the register is still preliminary and will undergo verification, data cleaning and corrections before the final version is certified.

The commission has also said it will ensure that the adoption of artificial intelligence strengthens the credibility, transparency and efficiency of Nigeria’s electoral process.

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