Implementing an E-Democracy System in Nigeria

E-democracy basically comprises the use of electronic communications technologies such as the internet, in enhancing and advancing the democratic process within a democratic republic. E-democracy is an innovation still in its infant stage; and is still subject to much debate and activity within government, civic oriented groups and societies around the world. In most developing countries including Nigeria, there exists a low attitude of participation of the citizens in governance. Social, political, insecurity, Corruption and other forms of electoral manipulation discourage the electorate from getting involved in government From the various elections conducted since independence, about half the number of registered voters actually voted during elections. In addition, less than half of those who voted were involved in participatory governance. The objective is of this paper is development of a web-based system that will foster and encourage active citizenship participation by implementing democratic practices like voting and election campaign. The system was developed using PHP as front end, Apache as web server and MySQL as Database. The benefits of having an e-Democracy system are numerous: It reduces the success of rigging during elections. It is time saving because it reduced some undue electoral processes. It allows for easy communication between the citizens and their elected candidates. Keywords:  Citizen, e-Democracy, Election, e-Governance, Voting and Participatio

Development of an Explainable Artificial Intelligence Prototype for Interpreting Predictive Models

Artificial Intelligence (AI) now depends on black box machine learning (ML) models which lack algorithmic transparency. Some governments are responding to this through legislation like the “Right of Explanation” rule in the EU and “Algorithmic Accountability Act” in the USA in 2019. The attempt to open up the black box and introduce some level of interpretation has given rise to what is today known as Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). The objective of this paper is to provide a design and implementation of an Explainable Artificial Intelligence Prototype (ExplainEx) that interprets predictive models by explaining their confusion matrix, component classes and classification accuracy. This study is limited to four ML algorithms including J48, Random Tree, RepTree and FURIA. At the core of the software is an engine automating a seamless interaction between Expliclas Web API and the trained datasets, to provide natural language explanation. The prototype is both a stand-alone and client-server based system capable of providing global explanations for any model built on any of the four ML algorithms. It supports multiple concurrent users in a client-server environment and can apply all four algorithms concurrently on a single dataset and returning both precision score and explanation. It is a ready tool for researchers who have datasets and classifiers prepared for explanation. This work bridges the gap between prediction and explanation, thereby allowing researchers to concentrate on data analysis and building state-of-the-art predictive models

The Emerging Threat of Ai-driven Cyber Attacks: A Review

Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and ubiquitous. Cybercriminals are inevitably adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to evade the cyberspace and cause greater damages without being noticed. Researchers in cybersecurity domain have not researched the concept behind AI-powered cyberattacks enough to understand the level of sophistication this type of attack possesses. This paper aims to investigate the emerging threat of AI-powered cyberattacks and provide insights into malicious used of AI in cyberattacks. The study was performed through a three-step process by selecting only articles based on quality, exclusion, and inclusion criteria that focus on AI-driven cyberattacks. Searches in ACM, arXiv Blackhat, Scopus, Springer, MDPI, IEEE Xplore and other sources were executed to retrieve relevant articles. Out of the 936 papers that met our search criteria, a total of 46 articles were finally selected for this study. The result shows that 56% of the AI-Driven cyberattack technique identified was demonstrated in the access and penetration phase, 12% was demonstrated in exploitation, and command and control phase, respectively; 11% was demonstrated in the reconnaissance phase; 9% was demonstrated in the delivery phase of the cybersecurity kill chain. The findings in this study shows that existing cyber defence infrastructures will become inadequate to address the increasing speed, and complex decision logic of AI-driven attacks. Hence, organizations need to invest in AI cybersecurity infrastructures to combat these emerging threats.publishedVersio

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF YORUBA LANGUAGE MOBILE TUTOR

Abstract Yoruba is a popular indigenous language in Nigeria alongside Hausa and Igbo. English language is however the main medium of communication especially in schools and institutions of learning. Over the years there has been unhealthy rivalry and competition between English language and the indigenous Nigerian languages with the latter struggling for survival. The rivalry is further worsen by the wide adoption of mobile technology which is mostly bundled with resources written in English language. Young Nigerians who have not been exposed to Yoruba language as their native language often find it difficult to speak, read, learn and write Yoruba language. There is the fear of trading Nigerian indigenous languages for English Language as the main means of communication due to modernization. The focus for this work is to present the design and implementation of an interactive mobile application with basic tutorials in the learning of Yoruba language on handheld devices. The system has features that assist users to do basic translation of English to Yoruba and fundamental tutorials that will enable people to learn, write, read and speak Yoruba language fluently. The application was designed and modelled with Unified Modelling Language and developed using HTML5, JavaScript and CSS. The application runs seamlessly on handheld devices which has a deep level of penetration and adoption in Nigeria

Development of an Explainable Artificial Intelligence Prototype for Interpreting Predictive Models

Artificial Intelligence (AI) now depends on black box machine learning (ML) models which lack algorithmic transparency. Some governments are responding to this through legislation like the “Right of Explanation†rule in the EU and “Algorithmic Accountability Act†in the USA in 2019. The attempt to open up the black box and introduce some level of interpretation has given rise to what is today known as Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). The objective of this paper is to provide a design and implementation of an Explainable Artificial Intelligence Prototype (ExplainEx) that interprets predictive models by explaining their confusion matrix, component classes and classification accuracy. This study is limited to four ML algorithms including J48, Random Tree, RepTree and FURIA. At the core of the software is an engine automating a seamless interaction between Expliclas Web API and the trained datasets, to provide natural language explanation. The prototype is both a stand-alone and client-server based system capable of providing global explanations for any model built on any of the four ML algorithms. It supports multiple concurrent users in a client-server environment and can apply all four algorithms concurrently on a single dataset and returning both precision score and explanation. It is a ready tool for researchers who have datasets and classifiers prepared for explanation. This work bridges the gap between prediction and explanation, thereby allowing researchers to concentrate on data analysis and building state-of-the-art predictive models

Developmentof an Inclusive Participatory Democracy System

Barriers such as unequal access, lack of digital skill, low income and disability constitute limiting factors for technology-mediated citizens and government interaction in developing countries. It is against this backdrop that this work explores the integration of Voice, Web and SMS technologies, in Nigeria’s democratic process. The proposed system takes advantage of the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices to explore the plausibility of increasing the level of citizens’ participation in democratic practices, particularly,those in rural areas with noInternet access and the physically challenged electorates.The server module for the e-democracy system was developed in PHP. Ozeki SMS server and Voxeo Voice server were used for SMS transaction code and VoiceXML code respectively. The prototype e-democracy system shows that developing nations can take advantage of their present level of technological development to give voice to the voiceless and improve their democratic system

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS INTERACTION

Abstract Socialization in the society without doubt aids in boosting the effectiveness of communication. It has indeed strengthened ties between persons. This fact has led to the idea of social network, which has been used to strengthen relationships between members of social systems. It is observed in some higher institutions that dissemination of information between students is usually restricted to the use of mobile communication devices and emails. There may be need to improve the information dissemination strategies in the department which will in turn enhance the flow of communication using additional platforms. This study presents a web-based social networking system for universities, which would support the effectiveness of communication between students within academic department. In developing the system, PHP, HTML and JAVA Script were used to create the web pages dynamically. MySQL database was used as the backend. The web server used was Apache. The system was evaluated using cognitive walkthrough strategy. This system delivers a platform for students to interact, share ideas, transmit important departmental announcements and develop ties and relationships. Activities to boost these include status update, mailing, photo uploads, instant messaging and voice chat. The full deployment of the application in the department would yield desired communication feedback and could even be adapted in different departments of the institution in the nearest future