Abiodun Funmi Oladipo
the artist
Africa University of Science and Technology, Nigeria
Abiodun Funmi Oladipo is a Nigerian computer scientist researching how machine learning can predict healthcare costs among seniors in Nigeria. Her work supports informed policy-making and better resource allocation in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
the artwork
Igba Laiye
Yoruba - Shades of Life - 2025 - digital
2 days - 8 hours - 20 minutes
audio commentary
I am passionate about the science in my artwork because it connects data with real human experiences. It lets me blend my identity, culture, and technical skills to make complex ideas—like predictive healthcare—both impactful and accessible. This artwork uses the contrast of youth and age to show how machine learning reveals healthcare patterns over a lifetime, Economic icons represent inputs; medical symbols show outcomes. Blending tradition with data, it highlights AI’s role in shaping fair, informed healthcare for Nigeria.
Abiodun Funmi Oladipo
computer science in Nigerian culture
One concrete connection between Yoruba culture and computer science lies in Yoruba talking drums and their tonal patterns, which parallel data encoding and signal processing in computing. Just as these drums convey complex messages through rhythmic tones, computers encode meaning through patterns of bits and signals. This traditional communication system reflects early principles of information theory, showing how indigenous knowledge can inspire modern computational thinking.