Artificial Intelligence (AI) or ‘man and machine at work’ system will become the future of mankind; the norm, not an exception. Experts in medi-tech have also reasoned that the AI evolution is still at its elementary stages and is set to explode into a machine intelligence and information superhighway that would determine many things including patient outcomes.
For this reason, a University of Lagos-trained medical expert and healthcare investor, Emi Membere-Otaji, wants Nigeria to make haste and take the front seat in the AI evolution so as not to be left behind.
To achieve this, the Rivers-born medical scientist insisted that as a nation, Nigeria must decide whether it wants to be a leader or follower in the AI revolution because it is still early enough to decide and act.
Membere-Otaji was chairman of Clearline International, one of Nigeria’s oldest health management organisations (HMOs). He is currently the Deputy National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
The Kalabari chief made this and other sterling depositions in his presentation at the ‘8th Professor Felix Oladejo Dosekun Memorial Lecture’, said to be an impactful gathering that brought together medical professionals, academics, and other distinguished leaders to honor the legacy of the late professor.
The founder and chairman of the multi-specialist ‘Princess Medical Centre located in the Trans-Amadi area of Port Harcourt called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately articulate a police framework to drive the AI revolution with timelines. He said the framework would include monitoring what is happening in other parts of the world and in different sectors as well as creating windows between the government and those working on the AI tech evolution in Nigeria. To objective would be to create a harmonized research environment with documented evidence of work done and outcomes.
Membere-Otaji, the President of ‘Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji Foundation (DREMOF)’, delivered the lecture titled: “Medical Curriculum and Artificial Intelligence: The Meeting Point and Path to Follow.” In his address, Membere-Otaji examined the rapidly growing role of AI in revolutionizing medical education and clinical practice. He discussed how AI is not just a futuristic concept, but a present-day reality that is already making waves in healthcare; from enhanced diagnostic precision and personalized treatment plans to robot-assisted surgeries and AI-powered virtual patient simulations.
The marine and shipping investor who is the CEO of Elshcon Nigeria Ltd highlighted that AI is fundamentally changing the way medical students learn and practise, making it crucial for future healthcare professionals to integrate AI into their curriculum.
On the path to follow, the medical scientist and onetime commissioner of health in Rivers State and chairman of health commissioners in Nigeria said the intersection between the medical curriculum and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now clearly obvious in the training of medical and dental professionals as well as in the practice of medicine.
Read also: Healthcare and biotechnology as major drivers of transformation in Africa
“This integration can only become more precise and expansive, and in the future, AI will be the norm rather than the exception; ‘Man and Machine’, working together in collaboration to enhance both medical training and practice for greater efficiency and improved outcomes.”
The multiple award-winning expert made it clear that the AI-driven technological revolution is set to sail into the 4th Industrial Revolution. As a nation, he insisted, Nigeria must determine if it is prepared to embrace this transformation, or be left behind.
The certified Speaker and author of ‘Push Through The Wall’ explained to the medical heavyweights that Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to “The simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to perform human-like tasks such as learning, problem solving, reasoning to draw conclusions and making decisions.
“AI also Interprets and understands data from sensors, such as images, speech and text. Also, by human-computer interaction, AI can perform voice recognition, natural language processing, etc.”
AI, he added, is basically a set of technologies that enable machines to mimic human intelligence. “AI technologies is the programme model that applies one or more algorithms to data in order to recognize patterns, make predictions and take decisions. Just like training a pet dog or cat to undertake some human tasks, so are artificial objects trained to behave like humans in some ways.
“The AI model represents realities in a simplified way. An input-output machine, which, from a given input, generates output. A vast knowledge base or data is provided to artificial objects, along with a step-by-step procedure and algorithms through which problems are solved.”
He said the net effect on an “intelligent” object, is that, the more data or big data it can access in its knowledge base, the more problems it can solve. Additionally, the more sophisticated or advanced the algorithms, the more complex problems the object can address.
He gave examples as apps on smartphones like the Chatbot, Google Assistant (making calls, sending/answering messages and setting reminders), images & video editing, fitness & health monitoring, music & video, language translation, personal and organizational management processes.
The guest lecturer, Membere-Otaji, is the eighth speaker at the biennial event. The first six speakers from previous events were distinguished professors, while the seventh speaker in 2023 was Babatunde Fashola (SAN), the former Governor of Lagos State and later Federal Minister of Works.
Membere-Otaji went more technical saying AI is either Machine Learning (ML) or Deep Learning (DL), saying these applications find uses in healthcare, sentiment analysis, fraud detection, E-commerce, hailing taxis like Uber with different charges based on variables of distance, weather, road, etc. He talked about subset of Machine Learning which is inspired by the structure and function of the human brain, using neural networks to analyze data.
The guest lecturer gave classes of Deep Learning AI as Convolutional Neural Network (CNNs which processes image and video); Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs which handles sequential data processing such as texts or speech); and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs which generates new data samples).
He said with each new level the machine picks up more data and learns more than the past, thus, becoming more logical.
Example is Amazon’s Alexa, the Personal Assistant that gets fed data, understands inundations and intonations, and diving deep, understands grammar and vocabularies to generate a customized response based on inputs and training.
DL applications include self-driving cars, real time behavior analysis, symptoms-based diseases predictions, data center security, server optimizations, recommendation system like Amazon products purchases, Netflix- highly complex movies, Spotify music suggestions, all based on research and liking.
A type of AI he identified is called General (Strong) AI. “These AI objects when fully developed and put to use, will possess the ability to exactly behave as human beings and take decisions like human beings. Super AI is still hypothetical, as seen in sci-fi movies but hopes to transcend human beings in intelligence and in performing tasks.”
He identified the early models of AI to include ‘Reactive Machine’ which he said cannot store data but reacts to present command.
Examples, he said, include IBM’s Deep Blue which defeated the world chess champion Garry Kasparov, do spam filters, and Netflix’s movie recommendation engine. “They also support real-time applications such as robot control systems and autonomous vehicle navigation systems.
“This type of AI is characterized by the ability to absorb learning data and improve over time, based on its experiences, similar to the human brain. It is the form of AI that is widely used and continually being perfected. These systems, use external memory, to store relevant information, during the learning process, such as Generative AI ChatGPT. However, they cannot hold large amounts of data or “memory” to pull from, when responding. Instead, they rely on a specific set of information and feedback from ongoing interactions. Examples include self-driving cars, which use sensors to detect pedestrians, traffic signs, and obstacles; digital assistants like customer service chatbots; smart home services; industrial robotics; and machine learning models like Generative AI, which can generate new data from text prompts, such as images, videos, and patterns.”
Advanced AI coming:
Membere-Otaji, who broke the records as the youngest chairman of any publicly quoted company east of the Niger when he was made chairman of the West African Glass Industry (WAGI), introduced to the elite audience what he called the theory of mind.
Theory of Mind: “This type of AI begins by observing how people behave and communicate, paying attention to the nuances in interactions and gathering data on various behaviors and contexts. It then starts recognizing patterns in people’s thoughts and feelings. Additionally, Emotion Recognition enables modern AI systems to identify human emotions through facial expressions, vocal tones, or sentiment analysis of text. While these systems are advancing, the development of a true Theory of Mind AI, which would fully understand and interpret human emotions, intentions, and thoughts, is still ongoing.”
Self-Awareness: “This is a hypothetical type of AI that has a sense of self consciousness and ability to understand its existence with self-awareness of own emotions, mental state, surroundings, aware of continuous identity and fully interact with the world with introspection, self-awareness and self-modification. Thus, understanding purpose. It is important to note that some AI applications use more than one program or techniques.”
On how this would impact learning, the University-trained medical expert said the current Nigerian Medical Training Curriculum is outlined in the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) documents for Basic Medical Sciences and Medicine and Dentistry.
He said the Basic Medical Sciences curriculum is designed also for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Human Anatomy, Physiology, and other related fields. He added that the Medicine and Dentistry curriculum is designed for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS/MBCHB) and Dentistry (BDS/BChD). “The programme aims to produce medical doctors and dentists with sound knowledge in physiological, anatomical, and biochemical processes. The key objectives of the Nigerian medical training curriculum include promoting the production and development of medical doctors and dentists with sound knowledge in physiological, anatomical, and biochemical processes; etc.
He said: “AI is transforming every sector of human endeavors, and healthcare is no exception. By enhancing diagnostic precision, optimizing treatment protocols, and improving patient outcomes, AI is already making significant impacts in human lives. However, the full potential of AI in medicine can only be realized when medical professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills to use it effectively, in education (teaching, learning, grading, language learning and research) and facilitation of more efficient and effective medical practice.
“Despite the already crowded CCMAS training curriculum in Nigeria, therefore, the importance of AI in the training of medical personnel cannot be over emphasized. There are numerous challenges at various stages of training and practice for medical professionals. Medical students face the burden of numerous textbooks, frequent exams, and clinical learning at the bedside.
“Resident doctors deal with preparing for rounds, bedside learning, thesis preparation, core studies, and academic activities.
While practicing doctors face the challenge of solving different patient cases, engaging in Continuing Medical Education (CME), and staying updated. Finally, academic doctors are tasked with teaching, preparing presentations, conducting research, and writing research papers.
“The intersection of medical curriculum and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing medical education and practice.”
He gave an overview of the convergence and its future prospects: “AI is being integrated into medical curricula to teach students how to work with large datasets, analyze electronic health records, and apply data-driven insights to clinical decision-making.
“Virtual Patients: AI-powered virtual patients are being used to simulate real-world clinical scenarios, allowing students to practice and hone their diagnostic and therapeutic skills.
“Personalized Learning: AI-driven adaptive learning systems are being used to tailor medical education to individual students’ needs, abilities, and learning styles.
“Clinical Decision Support: AI-powered clinical decision support systems are being integrated into medical curricula to teach students how to use Al-driven tools to support diagnosis, treatment, patient care and streamlining clinical workflows.”
He stated that AI aids in diagnosing diseases by analyzing medical images and identifying patterns indicative of various conditions; by enhanced Accuracy in Radiology because AI powered algorithms enhance the accuracy of radiological interpretations, leading to more precise diagnoses.
He mentioned predictive analysis for patient outcomes whereby AI utilizes predictive analytics to assess patient data and forecast potential health outcomes, allowing for proactive intervention.
In personalized treatment plans, AI tailors treatment plans based on individual patient data, considering genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors; remote patient monitoring (especially in pacing methods in heart treatments.
Others include healthcare administration and patient Electronic Health Records (EHR) and analytics, Virtual Assistant and Chatbots; Patient Engagement; Symptoms Checkers; Drug Discovery and Development; Target Identification; Lead Optimization; Mental Health Chatbots; Personalized Wellness Plans; Virtual Consultations.
He expressed excitement that Open Evidence AI achieved remarkable milestone by scoring over 90% in the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). “Even AI ChatGPT also passed with over 60% in the USMLE exam, demonstrating its potential in medical education and practice.”
Other voices:
Ademola Oremosu, a professor and Provost of the College of Medicine, emphasized the importance of embracing AI in training the next generation of medical professionals.
Another professor, Folashade Ogunsola, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, reaffirmed that while AI is changing the landscape of medicine, human expertise will remain essential in providing quality patient care.
The 2025 lecture was described by some of the attendees as inspiring and highly motivational in their search for continued exploration of the exciting intersection between medicine and technology, ensuring that Nigeria remains at the forefront of global healthcare innovation.
The convergence of all opinions at the 8th lecture was that AI is here to stay and the medical family must prepare the next generation of doctors and healthcare professionals to adapt and thrive in this new era.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
