By Kingsley Samuel
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CarbonAI, Debola Ibiyode, has called for the adoption of AI diplomacy as a strategic framework for balancing innovation with regulation, saying it is essential to unlock the full economic potential of artificial intelligence while protecting national and corporate interests.
Speaking at the AI Summit 2026 in Lagos, Ibiyode said AI diplomacy would provide the missing link between technological innovation, regulatory oversight and data sovereignty as Nigeria accelerates AI adoption.
Delivering a presentation on the theme, “The AI Conversation – Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence, AI, in Nigeria: Balancing Regulation and Innovation,” she stressed that innovation and regulation should not be seen as opposing forces but as complementary pillars for sustainable AI development.
According to her, innovation fuels economic growth, regulation builds trust and security, while AI diplomacy ensures countries and organisations retain sovereignty over their data and AI systems.
She said: “AI diplomacy must happen at both the national level and the corporate level. Everyone must be involved in the conversation about what the regulation should entail and how it can be objectively and practically implemented to protect users.
Innovation brings growth and regulation gives security, but AI diplomacy is what will actually give us sovereignty over our tools and our data.”Ibiyode explained that AI diplomacy would enable governments, regulators, technology companies and enterprises to collectively define practical rules for responsible AI deployment without stifling innovation.
She warned that the absence of regulation could undermine confidence in AI technologies and limit their commercial value.”Innovation without regulation is a risk, and regulation without innovation is stagnation. We should apply AI for economic growth.
However, at some point, without regulation, economic growth will not happen because there will not be profitability. If we do not apply AI responsibly, we cannot profit from it,” she said.
Drawing from CarbonAI’s experience as a sustainability AI platform serving the carbon market, Ibiyode noted that corporate organisations increasingly demand transparency and accountability before deploying AI solutions.
According to her, enterprise customers are seeking assurances on model traceability, data privacy and the regulatory safeguards protecting employees and customers interacting with AI systems.”As we scale to large corporate clients, the questions we get are: ‘How can I trust your model? What are the regulations that protect my customer or my employee using your model?’
There is a critical trust element right now, and only regulation can deliver that peace of mind. Corporations want to know the traceability of the model and demand that we explain how the AI arrived at its answers,” she stated.
Ibiyode also highlighted the risks posed by the rapid rise of generative AI, saying while foundational AI technologies have existed for years, recent advances have increased the potential for misuse.
She stressed the need for safeguards to protect citizens from threats such as deepfakes and other harmful applications of AI.”As humans, we know how to do one thing well: to always seek the negative part of a good thing.
We need to put regulations in place so citizens are protected from threats like deepfakes,” she added.
