Nigerian poet questions authenticity of Artificial Intelligence at Quramo Festival

Renowned Nigerian lawyer and poet, Tade Ipadeola, has expressed concern about the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), describing it as “false.”

Ipadeola, who won the 2013 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature for his poetry collection The Sahara Testament, made the remark on Saturday at the ongoing Quramo Festival of Words held at Eko Hotel, Lagos. He was in conversation with Irish poet Stephen James Smith during a book chat session.

“There is something false about AI and you can easily see it in the Russian-Ukraine war with the kind of information being chucked out by AI. Now when we judge poetry, many of them are being judged by AI,” Ipadeola said.

The poet reflected on the evolution of poetry, noting that it predates the printing press. He highlighted literary connections between Ireland and Nigeria, pointing out that Nigeria’s first well-known novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was partly inspired by the works of Irish writer W.B. Yeats. According to him, this shared literary history created a bond between the two countries.

In his own remarks, Smith observed that Nigeria and Ireland also share the common history of colonialism. He read from his award-winning poem My Ireland, while Ipadeola also presented selections from his recent work.

Ipadeola spoke about his writing journey, explaining that long walks often inspire his creativity. He recalled that Abiku by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was the first poem that inspired him deeply and drew him into writing.

For his part, Smith described writing as a solitary process, noting that because his works often blend poetry and music, he sometimes switches between the two when creating.