Young Nigerians seeking careers in technology have been advised to combine artificial intelligence (AI) skills with deep knowledge of specific industries to remain relevant as the digital economy continues to evolve.
The advice was given on Sunday during a virtual ICT Career Talk organised by Lagos-based Bincom Dev Centre and hosted by Gloria Ibeneme. The session, themed “Agentic AI: The Next Frontier of Tech Careers,” featured Akohamen Agenmonmen, an engineer and Founder of SurfSpot Communications Ltd., and Quazim Ogungbayi, an information technology (IT) project and product management professional.
Speaking during the session, Agenmonmen explained that while generative AI mainly creates content in response to prompts, agentic AI can plan and execute a sequence of tasks within defined limits.
He, however, stressed that human oversight remained essential to ensuring the quality, cost-effectiveness and outcomes of AI-driven work.
“Emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence extend beyond conventional coding to areas such as AI orchestration, workflow engineering, AI-native software development, safety and governance, as well as industry-specific applications,” he said.
Agenmonmen urged young professionals to identify areas where AI could solve practical problems within their chosen industries, rather than focusing only on conventional coding.
Also speaking, Ogungbayi advised aspiring AI professionals to begin with simple automated workflows, such as organising emails or drafting responses for human review, before progressing to systems with greater autonomy.
He also encouraged learners to dedicate about 90 days to focused learning and practical application within their chosen fields.
Ogungbayi said understanding application programming interfaces (APIs) and workflow design would help learners build more effective AI systems.
He also emphasised the importance of governance as AI agents gain access to sensitive systems and operations.
“Organisations should introduce measures such as limited system permissions, audit trails and human review to ensure accountability,” he said.
Responding to questions on data privacy, the two speakers urged individuals and organisations to exercise caution when sharing personal information with AI platforms.
They stressed the need for responsible access controls and clear accountability in the deployment of AI systems.
