Former minister of works and housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has advocated for the preservation of human values amid technological advancement.
The former Lagos State governor, stated this at the 27th convocation lecture, titled: “Embracing the Future Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Humanity” of the Lagos State University (LASU).
It was held at Aderemi Makanjuoka Lecture Theatre at the institution’s main campus in Ojo, Lagos.
He affirmed that the nation’s youths must embrace the future with skills and self-discipline while embracing a season of technological marvel and prepare for enormous possibilities of prosperity that elevate the human race and values.
Fashola remarked that fostering and investing in the potential of the next generation can lead to extraordinary achievements.
He said, “Self-discipline will be the element that completes all the work your parents and guardians have done and what your lecturers have done. It will concretise your character and define your reputation. It will be the compass for your integrity. It will determine whether you are worthy of trust.”
Still counseling the graduands, he stated, “I want you to reflect and remember only this part: self-discipline. It will show you the way away from drugs, crime, belief in wealth without work, and search for miracles of wealth. There are none. Only hard work provides sustainable wealth, not rituals, fake pastors or imams, or trafficking illicit drugs.”
He noted that the students are graduating into a world of technology at a time when talent is being rewarded at an unprecedented level with the adoption of artificial intelligence-based on extensive super computing powers.
He added, “Your world and the future promises will be more exciting and more prosperous. The early foretaste of the impact of artificial intelligence is that it is positive for mankind. It portends for example savings in energy consumption as a result of reduced time to get things done”
In her remarks, LASU vice chancellor Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello said, “This lecture not only revealed the lecturer’s perspectives on national issues but also proffered solutions to the identified problems and inspired graduates as they embarked on the journey outside of academia.
She added that, “Today, technology is the single biggest innovation that shaped and continues to change the world of today, creating adaptive never-before-known tools and applications that meet the needs of businesses and institutions, improve efficiency, enhance accessibility to solutions and services and guarantee better quality of life.
“Technology continues to enhance our lives and the ways we communicate, educate our learners, move around, and do business, but the debates on how it impacts humanity both now and, in the future, have not been sufficiently addressed.
She, however, said, “The university has also infused technology into its pedagogy by adopting hybrid teaching for its general courses. This allows students to receive lectures anywhere around the campus without the physical inconvenience of being in crowded classrooms for courses with a large number of students.”
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