Impact of Artificial Intelligence on African society, should businesses be scared?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a revolutionary force that has the potential to completely change industries and our society in this era of rapid technological advancement.

AI development becomes crucial, serving as the cornerstone for building a future that smoothly combines technical innovation with social responsibility if it is anchored in ethics, transparency, and accountability.

This is unfortunately still a utopia because many people employ AI for purposes that are only sometimes advantageous to them. AI is gaining popularity in contemporary African society and aims to encompass all aspects of human endeavour. Due to a few new issues, the acceptance and use of these modern technologies in the African environment are limited.

In this article, we will discuss the introduction of AI and its effects on the African economy.

AI holds great promise for enhancing every aspect of the African structure. However, the acceptance and usage of AI applications in African society brings up several difficulties, such as:

The need to learn new skills in a short time,

The development of user attitudes, ethics, and

Infrastructure and network connectivity.

These issues, which arose from the usage of AI review, are listed and addressed in the parts that follow.

This means gaining the knowledge and abilities needed for the creation, use, and deployment of AI applications. Technical skill acquisition is required as a result of technological advancement. AI is a relatively new and developing technology that will both create and enhance occupations, requiring the development of new skills.

In a Gartner research circle survey, 59% of respondents said that acquiring new skills would be necessary to perform both newly created and current jobs.

Programming abilities are required because the development of AI involves machine learning and natural language processing, both of which need sophisticated algorithms. "How can AI be programmed to perform accurate operations?" is the question at hand.

For instance, during a chatbot encounter, a user may ask multiple queries that all require the same response. "What is the time?" and "Could you check the time," for instance. The chatbot system can provide an accurate response to the first query but a false one to the second.

Africans who choose to make use of AI on a more frequent basis need to master AI algorithms and natural language learning because the way questions are addressed greatly influences the responses generated by AI.

Even while AI applications are increasingly being adopted and used, some corporate executives still find it challenging to put a number on the advantages of the technology.

While some of the advantages of AI are well-known, such as time savings and quick response, users in Africa are still having difficulty understanding the benefits of automation of processes.

Because these technologies mimic human intelligence, which is essentially completing human tasks differently, the question that needs to be answered is whether or not adopting AI applications is healthy.

While certain businesses have faith in AI, others are concerned that its application may cause disruptions to their established methods of operation.

Africa is a developing continent where people are still learning about AI and are unsure of its benefits. The adoption and application of AI in Africa are severely hampered by people's fear of the unknown.

For AI projects to give consumers appropriate information or responses in any scenario, both the number and quality of data contents are critical. If the data used to train the AI system does not accurately reflect the demographic factors in the targeted population, an AI will frequently fail.

For instance, a chatbot system needs detailed information about how it operates to respond to users appropriately; if the user requests information that is not stored in the training data, the system will not function as intended. Africa's data limitations are widely recognized. The quality of machine learning techniques depends on the quality of the data they are given.

Prejudices and wrong information present in data or even in the person who developed the process are incorporated into AI algorithms, which propagate social injustices.

In Africa, in particular, users are more likely to import machine learning algorithms that were developed and taught outside of the continent utilising data that might not identify or be biassed against significant segments of the African population. A deeper, bigger, and more easily available pool of data is required to make AI-solutions accessible to academics, developers, and users.

High-quality data is not always available or accessible in developing markets, especially in unstable or conflict-affected areas in the African continent.

A strategy on AI deployment tactics, similar to those in developed nations like Australia, China, France, and the United States, is required in African countries as AI-powered technologies start to gradually take over the daily life of the African population.

While some African nations—Mauritius, Egypt, Zambia, Tunisia, and Botswana, for example—have recognized the potential of AI to increase GDP and have created national AI strategies, and South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya have passed data protection laws, these developments are still in their early stages.

These could be further explained in the article below:

Responsible AI in Africa—Challenges and Opportunities

The majority of Africans accept technology with a "wait-and-see" mentality; they are a late majority and laggard adopters of innovation.

In the context of technology development, ethics refers to a set of values that guide people's behaviours positively towards one another.

These values are derived from cultural standards, religious convictions, and public acceptance of the best conduct.

Ethics underpin human endeavours in Africa, fostering the continent's cultures and fostering trust in the advancement and practical use of technology.

AI has a lot of potential, but it also presents a lot of challenges for governments and businesses, especially when it comes to ethics.

Many African nations are still debating the ethical, financial, and societal effects of the Second and Third Industrial Revolutions (Oosthuizen 2020).

AI has already been linked to several ethical dilemmas.

According to research, there may be significant effects of AI on African society in the areas of accountability, data bias, transparency, and socioeconomic concerns.

Systems using AI mimic human intelligence and it has been shown to exacerbate socioeconomic inequality through the use of skewed data.

Furthermore, the development of AI systems necessitates the use of sophisticated algorithms, which undermines transparency and confidence.

AI has impacted practically every economic area. Nearly all professionals are aware of AI, and some even use it regularly.

Thus, we will look at how AI affected the African sector in detail.

A technological revolution that has the potential to increase productivity, accelerate global growth, and elevate incomes globally is about to occur. However, it might also worsen inequality and displace jobs. AI is developing at a rapid pace, captivating people's attention and posing serious concerns about how it can affect the international economy. Numerous research have forecasted the possibility of AI replacing human labour. However, we also know that AI is likely to support human labour in many situations.

According to Kristalina Georgieva in her article entitled, “ AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity” AI is used in over 40% of jobs worldwide. Automation and information technology have always had an impact on repetitive work, but AI stands out for its capacity to affect highly skilled jobs. Hence, compared to emerging markets and developing countries, established economies face more risks from AI but also have more opportunities to make use of its advantages.

AI may have an impact on roughly 60% of jobs in developed economies. The productivity of about half of the exposed jobs might be increased by integrating AI. Half of the workforce may see a reduction in labour demand, which would result in lower earnings and fewer jobs being hired, as AI programs take over critical functions currently completed by people. In the worst circumstances, several of these positions might vanish.

Nonetheless, AI may also contribute to the creation of new job opportunities like AI product manager or AI research scientist and since the introduction of AI is still relatively new, this will give enough time for workers to train and acquire new skills which will make them competitive in the job market especially when there are still limited expertise in AI, this may lead to an increase in salary and less competition.

AI may have an impact on wealth and income inequality as well, with those who can use AI potentially realising increases in productivity and pay while others are left behind.

AI can help less experienced people increase their output more quickly, according to research. While older workers could find it difficult to adjust, younger workers might find it simpler to take advantage of opportunities.

Businesses need to adapt and employ AI effectively to boost productivity to stay ahead of the competition. To get the best outcomes, businesses can use several AI solutions, such as Grammarly, Midjourney, Mailbutler, and Zapier.

To stay competitive and avoid collapsing, people must also learn how to harness AI and incorporate it into their current skill set.

According to Keymakr, in his article called “ How is AI impacting the education system?” AI is now a useful tool for tackling issues in education and hastening the achievement of institutions.

An AI system that collects data and offers analyses of students' performance can provide teachers with information about their students' engagement, academic progress, and general well-being through the collection and analysis of data.

Additionally, it has integrated digital tools and apps that support student progress tracking and instructor engagement. It does, however, have certain drawbacks, which are evident in the ways that people utilise it for both good and harm.

Personalised learning is one of the biggest benefits of AI in the educational system. Based on each student's particular learning needs and talents, AI-powered systems can create lesson plans and assessments that are specifically tailored for them.

By doing this, you can be sure that students will have an optimal learning experience, which will boost their engagement and improve their performance. The ability to examine students' problem-solving skills in real time is another benefit of AI in education. Throughout a class or course, teachers can utilise this technology to monitor each student's progress and determine how well the pupils are grasping ideas. They become aware of areas that require more attention as a result, and they offer targeted solutions.

AI and its use in education and learning have certain difficulties, just like any other technology. Huge amounts of data are gathered and analysed by AI systems to create patterns and predictions; this might lead to biases and inaccurate information. These days, a lot of individuals are worried about the moral implications of AI systems and think that security needs to be taken into account while developing and implementing AI systems.

Additionally, students put less effort into their studies because they think AI will provide them with all the answers they need.

As a result, there is a tendency for students to become more lazy because they now rely on AI to solve all of their problems.

The ability of the human brain to reason will naturally be limited when AI is used more and more. In other words, due to the lack of continuous learning caused by the increased dependence on AI, the frontal lobe of the brain will gradually become less active.

As a result, humans' ability to reason is gradually diminished and become more artificial. The reliance of people in practically every aspect of life on AI technology is another problem. It has unquestionably raised living conditions and made life easier, but it has also had a terrible effect on humankind, making people sluggish and impatient.

The human brain will eventually get starved of contemplation and mental effort as it dives further into each task, such as organising and planning. A heavy reliance on AI could lead to a decline in professional abilities and stress when physical or mental interventions are required.

In many facets of life, AI is decreasing our degree of performance in some areas, substituting its decisions for our own, and increasing our dependence.

According to some, AI erodes human autonomy and responsibility, which hurts fulfilment and happiness. Addiction to AI use can eventually result in laziness and troublesome circumstances down the road.

Notwithstanding the reservations, it is evident that AI holds great promise for boosting productivity across many domains, including government, industry, and education. People shouldn't be scared to learn how to adapt and become accustomed to AI as soon as possible to be able to remain competitive while improving their quality of life.

As the world continues to adapt to modern technological advancements made possible by AI solutions, we can expect further growth in this sector.

AI is significant, and people's concerns about this technology will decrease as more people come to understand its value.