INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF TRADERS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION PRACTICES IN OWAN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

In developing semi-urban regions, the breakdown of market cleanliness campaigns typically stems not from a reluctance to participate, but from a critical gap between routine cleaning routines and an awareness of epidemiological dangers. To explore this dynamic, this investigation utilized an AI-assisted survey methodology to assess the behavioral attitudes and baseline knowledge of market traders in Owan West Local Government Area (LGA), Edo State, concerning environmental sanitation. Specifically, the study aimed to gauge the depth of traders' sanitation awareness and isolate the key determinants shaping their disposition toward waste management. The study’s target population encompassed merchants operating within major commercial hubs across Owan West LGA, such as Eki-Oise, Evbiobe, Aoma, Sobe, Eki-ughe, Okpuje, and Ozalla. Utilizing a simple random sampling approach, a purposive sampling technique was used to select the markets for the study while the simple random sampling technique was used to select the traders who are the respondents for the study. a representative sample of four hundred and fifty (450) participants was selected from four distinct markets. Empirical data gathered via a self-designed questionnaire were subsequently processed through AI-driven descriptive statistics, utilizing frequencies and percentages for systematic tabulation and thematic analysis. The Instrument for the study is a questionnaire of 20 items used to elicit information from respondents. The questionnaires were divided into two sections. Section A, covers the demographic background of the respondents while Section B, consist of items related to the research questions. The face and content Validity of the Instrument was established by the supervisor and two experts from the Department of Environmental Health Science. Their inputs and correcting in terms of clarity and appropriateness of language was used to develop the final draft. To determine the reliability of the Instrument, the test-retest method of estimating the reliability of an instrument would be used. Consequently, the constructed Instrument was administered on a group of forty (20) traders who are not part of the study but part of the population within an interval of two weeks. The correlation of the response was determined using the Pearson's product moment correlation. The resulting data unveiled a distinct contradiction in trader perspectives while familiarity with fundamental, everyday cleaning procedures was widespread, comprehension of the clinical repercussions of poor hygiene such as disease vectors and transmission paths was remarkably deficient. Concurrently, however, the target population maintained a strongly favorable disposition toward preserving a clean marketplace. Statistical insights revealed that this proactive attitude was primarily driven by formal education levels, a psychological sense of domestic ownership over their immediate market stalls, and exposure to community level environmental advocacy programs. These elements indicate that market compliance is sustained by immediate social and behavioral motivators rather than an intricate understanding of preventative medicine. Based on these outcomes, the study highlights an urgent need for sustained public sector interventions to upgrade physical sanitation infrastructure throughout Owan West marketplaces