Human behaviour
How people use AI, and the reasons behind their adoption, from convenience and curiosity to necessity.
Nov 2026AI Governance & Adoption Initiative
AI Is Becoming Personal. Are We Ready?
From the workplace to the classroom, from business decisions to deeply personal conversations, artificial intelligence is changing how we live and think. This November, LawDigits is bringing research, responsible AI education, and community engagement together to understand how Nigerians use AI—and how we can make that adoption safer for everyone.
- Understanding AI use
- Protecting people
- Enabling responsible adoption
When AI Becomes Personal · 90 seconds · captioned
01 · Research
Community survey on AI use
How Nigerians in participating communities use foundational LLMs, and what they experience.
Opening soon
02 · Free webinar
AI, Mental Health & Relationships With Machines
A public conversation on emotional reliance, attachment and healthy boundaries.
Details coming soon
03 · Executive course
Responsible AI Use & Safe Prompting
Practical professional development for using AI well, and safely, at work.
Register interest
04 · Community
From research to community impact
Education taken to where people live, learn and work, shaped by the evidence.
Partners welcome
Why this programme matters
Adoption is moving fast. Public understanding must catch up.
AI tools are being built into work, education and professional services, and into personal life. People use them to learn, draft, research, solve problems, create, seek advice and make decisions. Some also turn to them for companionship and reassurance. That pace of change raises questions we cannot answer by assumption.
Mental wellbeing
How users experience AI interactions, particularly when they seek companionship, reassurance or personal advice.
Safety and trust
Privacy, misinformation, overreliance, manipulation risks, and the limits of AI-generated responses.
Responsible adoption
How individuals, professionals, communities and organisations can use AI well without surrendering their judgement or their safety.
We are investigating, not presuming. Not every AI interaction is harmful, and not every user forms an unhealthy attachment. This programme exists to understand real experiences and real risks, then to equip people with practical knowledge. Our position is simple: AI adoption must be accompanied by education, evidence, human-centred governance and safety awareness.
The November research project
We need to understand how Nigerians actually use AI.
LawDigits will conduct a community-based survey on the use of foundational large language models (LLMs) by Nigerians in participating communities.
The aim is to identify common usage patterns, understand why people use these tools, investigate the benefits and harms they perceive, and set priorities for community awareness.
Open a question to see why we ask it
Which LLMs are people using?
Different tools have different data practices and safeguards, so knowing which ones people use tells us where guidance is needed.
What are their most common use cases?
To build a clear picture of what AI is actually used for: work, study, advice, creativity or company.
How frequently do they interact with these systems?
Occasional use and daily reliance raise very different questions.
Do they use AI for companionship, emotional support, or relationship-like conversations?
To understand this kind of use honestly, without assuming it is harmful.
How do users perceive the effects of AI on their mood, thinking, behaviour and relationships?
These are self-reported perceptions, not clinical measurements or diagnoses.
Have users encountered inaccurate, misleading or harmful outputs?
How often people meet errors or harmful content, and what they did next.
What personal, sensitive or confidential information do they disclose?
We ask about the kinds of information people share, never for the information itself.
How do they verify responses and decide when to trust AI?
Trust habits: how people check an answer before acting on it, and when they do not.
What do users understand about the limitations of these systems?
Knowing what people already understand about how these systems work, and how they fail, shows where education should start.
What AI safety knowledge do communities need most?
So that the education we deliver answers needs people actually have.
What the research should produce
- A baseline picture of AI adoption among participating respondents.
- A classification of common LLM use cases.
- A better understanding of AI companionship and relationship-like use.
- Evidence on self-reported psychological experiences and perceived risks.
- An assessment of awareness gaps in privacy, verification and responsible use.
- Recommendations for targeted community education and professional training.
Research transparency
- Voluntary. Taking part is your choice.
- Adults only. The survey is for people aged 18 and over. We are not recruiting minors into this research.
- Not a clinical assessment. It records experiences and perceptions. It does not diagnose anything.
- Not proof of cause. Findings will show patterns among respondents, not that AI causes any effect.
- Not nationally representative. Results describe participating communities and will be reported with that limit stated.
- Reported responsibly. Findings are published in aggregate. No individual will be identifiable.
Take Part in the Research
Survey opening soon Leave your email and we will send you the link.
AI, mental health & human relationships
When AI becomes more than a tool.
People are beginning to use conversational AI not only to get answers, but also to talk, reflect, seek reassurance, and experience a sense of connection. These interactions deserve serious public attention—not sensationalism.
01
Emotional reliance on conversational AI.
02
Relationship-like attachment to AI systems.
03
Seeing AI as a friend, confidant or source of emotional support.
04
Whether AI interactions may affect social connection and relationships with other people.
05
Treating AI-generated advice as a substitute for qualified professional support.
06
The privacy implications of disclosing intimate or sensitive information to AI.
07
Inaccurate, excessively agreeable or poorly contextualised responses, and how they may affect users.
08
The difference between beneficial use, ordinary companionship and patterns that may warrant concern.
A spectrum, not a verdict
Helpful use
Using AI to reflect, organise thoughts, practise a difficult conversation or find information, alongside human relationships and proper care.
Ordinary companionship
Enjoying conversations with AI, or finding them comforting at times. This is common, and not in itself a problem.
Patterns worth a closer look
Preferring AI to all human contact, feeling distressed without it, relying on it for health or safety decisions, or sharing what you would not want stored.
Illustrative examples of what the research will explore. This is not a diagnostic checklist.
What AI may offer some users
- Accessibility: it is available at any hour and in private.
- Convenience when organising thoughts or information.
- A space to reflect or rehearse before speaking to someone.
- A sense of support for some people at some times.
What it is not
- It is not a human being, and it does not share your experience.
- It is not a substitute for appropriate professional care.
- It is not a guaranteed-private place for intimate disclosures.
- It is not reliably accurate, and can agree with you when it should not.
If AI conversations are leaving you feeling worse, or you are in distress, please talk to someone you trust or a qualified health professional. This page is educational and is not medical or psychological advice.
Free public webinar
AI, Mental Health & the Risks of Relationships With Machines
Join LawDigits for a practical conversation about the psychological and social dimensions of conversational AI. We will explore how people interact with AI systems, why some users form emotional attachments, what the known risks and limitations are, and how individuals can maintain healthy boundaries when using AI.
- 01 Why people turn to AI for companionship and emotional reassurance.
- 02 Understanding AI anthropomorphism and perceived emotional connection.
- 03 Potential benefits, limitations and risks of AI companionship.
- 04 Distinguishing ordinary use from potentially concerning overreliance.
- 05 Privacy and personal disclosures during intimate AI conversations.
- 06 When human relationships and qualified professional support matter.
- 07 Practical safeguards for individuals, families, educators and communities.
- Students
- Parents
- Educators
- Professionals
- Community leaders
- Everyday technology users
Professional development
Responsible AI Use & Safe Prompting: Executive Course
A practical course for executives, managers, lawyers, consultants, civil servants, educators, business owners and other professionals who want to use AI productively while understanding its limits, its information-security implications and the governance responsibilities that come with it.
FormatPractical, scenario-based
FeeTo be confirmed
DurationTo be confirmed
CertificateTo be confirmed
- Understand the basic operation and limitations of foundational LLMs.
- Identify appropriate and inappropriate professional AI use cases.
- Write effective prompts to achieve specific objectives.
- Improve AI-assisted research, drafting, analysis and problem-solving.
- Recognise hallucinations, unsupported assertions, bias and misleading outputs.
- Verify AI-generated information before relying on it.
- Protect confidential, personal, privileged and commercially sensitive information.
- Understand intellectual property and attribution considerations.
- Apply human oversight to important decisions.
- Develop practical rules for safe AI use in professional environments.
Safe prompting is not only about getting better answers. It is about controlling what you disclose, defining the task properly, validating what comes back, and keeping a human responsible for the result.
Practical exercises
Hands-on prompting tasks with feedback, not slides alone.
Realistic workplace scenarios
Research, drafting, analysis and decision support as they actually arise.
Prompt-writing examples
Before-and-after examples drawn from real professional tasks.
A responsible-use checklist
A one-page routine to adopt across your team.
From research to community impact
We will take AI education where it matters.
The programme is designed to go beyond online conversations and engage directly with Nigerian communities. LawDigits intends to use the research findings to decide where awareness efforts are most needed, what people need to learn, and how education should be adapted for different audiences.
- 01ListenThe survey gathers real experiences of AI use.
- 02AnalysePatterns, risks and awareness gaps are identified.
- 03PrioritiseWe decide where education is needed most.
- 04EducateSessions are tailored to each audience.
- 05ReviewFeedback shapes the next phase of work.
Students and young people
Teachers and educators
Parents and caregivers
Civil servants and public institutions
Professionals and business owners
Community leaders
Users new to AI
Civil society and digital rights groups
Become a programme partner
Bring your expertise, your access or your support.
We are inviting professionals, researchers, mental-health practitioners, educators, technology companies, community organisations and institutional partners to help make this work rigorous and far-reaching.
- Contribute expertise to the research design or the education materials.
- Facilitate access to communities, campuses or institutions.
- Support the research, its analysis and its reporting.
- Take part in, host or co-deliver educational activities.
Policy context
Responsible adoption is part of building Nigeria’s AI future.
Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) was published in September 2025 by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). It sets out five strategic pillars for 2025–2029; this programme works in the space of the third and fourth. One line in it matters to us more than any other.
- Pillar 1Building Foundational AI Infrastructure
- Pillar 2Building and Sustaining a World-class AI Ecosystem
- Pillar 3Accelerating AI Adoption and Sector Transformation
- Pillar 4Ensuring Responsible and Ethical AI Development
- Pillar 5Developing a Robust AI Governance Framework
The part of the Strategy this programme answers
National Artificial Intelligence Strategy · §1.6.2.2, Risk Factors and Outcomes
Conduct public awareness campaigns to promote trust in AI.
The Strategy names Ethical Concerns, public distrust in AI caused by issues such as bias and privacy violations, as one of its risks, and rates it the most serious of all. Public awareness campaigns are among the mitigations it sets out.
- Likelihood
- High
- Impact
- High
- Risk rating
- Extreme
That is the work this programme sets out to do: the survey shows where awareness is missing, and the webinar, executive course and community sessions take it to the people who need it.
An independent contribution. This programme is a LawDigits initiative, proposed as a contribution to responsible adoption and public awareness. It is not commissioned, endorsed or funded by the Federal Government or any of its agencies, and the Strategy does not mandate it. The quotation is from the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (September 2025).
Participate
The future of AI adoption must include everyone.
We cannot build responsible AI adoption on assumptions alone. We need evidence from real users, informed professionals, trusted community partners, and practical education that reaches people where they live, learn, and work.
Participate in the surveyShare how you use AI. Adults 18+, voluntary.The research
Attend the free public webinarAI, mental health and relationships with machines.The webinar
Join the executive courseResponsible AI use and safe prompting at work.The course
Become a research or community partnerExpertise, access, research support or education.Partner with us
Be the first to know
Get the webinar link when registration opens.
The community survey is open now. Webinar registration is being finalised: leave your email and we will send you the link as soon as it is released, and nothing else.
Help us understand AI use today so we can shape safer adoption tomorrow.
Questions
Frequently asked
An evidence-led initiative on AI adoption in Nigeria. It combines a community survey on how people use large language models, a free public webinar on AI, mental health and relationships with machines, an executive course on responsible AI use and safe prompting, and community education shaped by what the research finds.
Adults aged 18 and over in participating communities who use, or have used, AI chat tools. Participation is voluntary. We are not recruiting anyone under 18 into this research. The survey will explain how responses are handled before you begin.
No. It asks about people's own experiences and perceptions of using AI. It is not a clinical assessment, it cannot diagnose anything, and its findings will not be presented as proof that AI causes any particular effect.
Dates, times, speakers, platform and any course fee are being finalised. We publish them on this page only once they are confirmed. Leave your email on the page to be told first.
No. It is an independent LawDigits initiative. It is designed to complement the aims of Nigeria's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in September 2025, but it is not commissioned, endorsed or funded by government, and the Strategy does not mandate it.
Only to contact you about the thing you asked for: survey and webinar links, the executive course, or a partnership. We do not ask for health information on these forms. You can ask us to delete your details at any time by writing to dpo@thelawdigits.com.
LawDigits November 2026 — Understanding AI use. Protecting people. Enabling responsible adoption.
Community research · Free public webinar · Executive course · Community education