Corporation, stakeholders fear AI

A new white paper by International Data Corporation (IDC), a global technology research and advisory firm, has revealed that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence workloads is exposing weaknesses in traditional data centre maintenance models, raising the risk of system failures.

In a related development, a digital transformation specialist and cybersecurity expert, Dr Gabriel Akinremi, has urged Nigeria to institutionalise Artificial Intelligence Ethical Impact Assessment (AI-EIA) as a national best practice to ensure the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.

The report, sponsored by Schneider Electric, highlighted how surging rack densities, fragmented, complex, multi-vendor environments, and a shortage of skilled technicians are creating conditions in which system failures are harder to predict and more costly when they occur.

According to the white paper, Rack power densities in AI-focused deployments have climbed from about 15kW per rack in conventional facilities to as high as 300–600kW, significantly increasing the potential impact of equipment failure. This is further compounded by many operators expanding capacity by acquiring and upgrading existing sites, often inheriting equipment with little operational history.

The report warned that in such environments, traditional maintenance schedules are no longer sufficient to ensure reliability. “In this environment, calendar-based maintenance is no longer fit for purpose,” it stressed.

Against this backdrop, IDC stressed the need to adopt condition-based maintenance (CBM) to reduce risk by identifying early signs of failure.

Akinremi, who is also a researcher and university lecturer, said while Nigeria is increasingly embracing AI across government, education, healthcare, finance and business, the country must put in place ethical safeguards to address the risks associated with the rapidly evolving technology.

In a paper titled: ‘Why Nigeria Must Mainstream Artificial Intelligence Ethical Impact Assessment.’

Akinremi argued that AI systems, if left unchecked, could reinforce discrimination, violate privacy, spread misinformation, weaken accountability and erode public trust.

According to him, the focus should no longer be on whether Nigeria should adopt AI but on how to deploy the technology responsibly through structured ethical governance.

He described AI Ethical Impact Assessment as a practical governance tool that would enable organisations to evaluate the ethical implications of AI systems before deployment, much like Environmental Impact Assessments conducted for major development projects.

The expert noted that addressing such concerns at the design stage would enable organisations to prevent harm rather than respond after damage had already been done.