Biography
Rashidat Adeola Ibrahim is a PhD researcher in Higher Education Administration at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and currently serves as an Academic Planning Officer in the University's Academic Planning Unit (PBM/MISU). Her research focuses on artificial intelligence governance, digital transformation, academic integrity, institutional ethics, and data-driven policy systems in higher education, particularly within African and resource-constrained contexts. She is a Fellow of the Pan-African Women PhD Scholars Collective in AI & Livelihoods and an Africa Artificial Intelligence Policy Fellow with Lawyers Hub and the Africa AI Policy Lab. Through these fellowships, she contributes to interdisciplinary research, policy dialogue, and collaborative publications on AI governance and digital regulation in Africa. She was also an invited speaker at the Lifelong Learning Webinar Series organized by UNESCO, where she presented on Inclusive Adult Learning in the AI Era: Confronting Inequality and Empowering the Marginalised. She has published on higher education administration, educational management, and institutional governance. Her current research examines the intersection of AI utilisation, institutional ethical practices, academic integrity, graduate employability, and digital transformation in Nigerian public universities.
Conference contributions 1
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE PRESERVATION OF YORUBA LANGUAGE:
Opportunities, risks, and cultural implications
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence is reshaping language preservation and communication globally, creating new opportunities for the survival of indigenous languages. This study examines the potential of AI technologies to support the preservation and revitalization of the Yoruba language while exploring the associated cultural and linguistic challenges. Using a qualitative literature review approach, the study synthesizes existing scholarship on machine translation, speech recognition, natural language processing, and large language models in relation to indigenous language preservation. The paper investigates how effectively current AI systems represent Yoruba language structures, tonal features, literary devices, and culturally embedded meanings. It further explores the role of AI in promoting language learning, enhancing access to educational resources, increasing digital visibility, and encouraging language use among younger generations. However, the study identifies critical concerns, including language distortion, cultural misrepresentation, and the loss of contextual meanings when Yoruba expressions are translated or generated by AI systems trained predominantly on Western language datasets. Findings suggest that AI offers significant opportunities for documenting, preserving, and disseminating Yoruba language and cultural heritage through digital archives, intelligent learning platforms, and automated language tools. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these technologies depends on the availability of culturally representative datasets and the active involvement of linguists and cultural experts in AI development. The study concludes that AI can serve as a valuable tool for Yoruba language preservation when guided by culturally responsive and ethically grounded frameworks. Collaborative efforts among AI developers, linguists, educators, and policymakers are essential to ensuring that technological innovation strengthens rather than diminishes indigenous language and cultural heritage.