by Kingseyi Sun May 20, 2018 9:48 amChukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. ( CFA )
Have you ever stopped to ask this introspective question on
how Artificial Intelligence might impact your career or
organisation ? I try to do this often because I have come to
realise that a number of businesses will become extinct
either because AI will affect them negatively or they fail to
proactively anticipate the future .
A McKinsey report after analysing some cases states ,
“ Artificial intelligence impact will most likely be substantial
in marketing and sales as well as supply- chain management
and manufacturing .”
The
same
report
states
that
“ AI
has
the
potential to create trillions of dollars of value across the
economy, if business leaders work to understand what it
can and cannot do .”
Looking at this critically, one would wonder how Nigeria ’ s
manufacturing industries would be able to compete with
their counterparts abroad who are massively adding AI -
powered tools and solutions to their production lines.
China , for example , has more or less made AI a major
priority , investing heavily so as to ensure the country stays
ahead. An increasing number of Chinese factories have
resorted to investing billions in robotics and intelligent
machines powered by AI. Honestly , I am of the opinion that
Nigeria and some other African countries will be on the
receiving end as we don ’ t seem to grasp what is ahead. How
would an average African entity that has not invested in AI
compete if and when singularity is achieved? It is nearly
impossible except for those that are truly prepared for the
AI revolution .
A number of studies have argued that AI and robots will
take over 50 per cent of human jobs in the next 30 years .
This is due to the exponential advancements in robotics ,
quantum computing and AI. According to a Computer
Science Professor at Rice University , Texas, Moshe Vardi ,
intelligent machines will take over jobs across various
fields, such as driving and even bank tellers while robots
would replace humans in different professions , and this will
immensely affect the landscape of human productivity .
The reality is that across the world , certain functions in
various workplaces are facing huge threats and it is all
thanks to advancement in technology. More than 30 per
cent of humans could lose their jobs in the next few
decades , according to various studies . Clerical workers for
instance , who perform tedious tasks such as writing reports
or working on spreadsheets are getting an easy replacement
with software but, what other jobs are under threat? Well, a
lot more such as data analysis, diagnosing health
conditions , carrying out criminal investigations , writing
annual reports , research, receptionists etc.
According to Richard and Daniel Susskind in their study
titled , “ The Future of the Professions ” , professions such as
medicine, law, accountancy and engineering , could bear the
first impact of the rise of the machines. If that is the case ,
why would we need a medical practitioner , when a robot
can read our complex physiology and prescribe ,
manufacture and distribute the exact blend of medication
necessary .
In the words of Bill Gates, if robots powered by AI continue
to steal jobs then it should be subjected to the same tax
regime as humans . I find this to be an interesting
proposition but if you bring it home then you’ d realise that
it actually means loss of revenue for governments . Let me
illustrate using company X with 1, 000 employees , as
stipulated in our laws , state governments are entitled to
collect personal income taxes. Now let ’ s say company X
decides to embrace AI in order to increase profitability but
this might lead to the sacking of 500 of its employees . What
this means is that though this organisation may become
more profitable , the state government will end up collecting
less personal income taxes even though they might pay
more taxes to the Federal Government. This may probably
come across like science fiction but I have no doubt that it ’ ll
be some of the likely problems policy makers will be
confronted with in the future so a proactive government
should start thinking about how to implement Bill Gate ’ s
suggestion.
A number of experts believe that AI might spell doom for
mankind depending on how it is applied. According to the
late high -profile physicist , Stephen Hawking , the emergence
of AI could be the “ worst event in the history of our
civilisation” unless society finds a way to control its
development. It is not just him that announced his fears ,
the Founder of SpaceX , Elon Musk, believes that the only
way for man to survive the AI onslaught is for our brains to
be merged with computers . But on the flip side , the Chief
Executive Officer of Facebook , Mark Zuckerberg, seems to
be one of the high profile individuals not worried about AI –
he is pretty optimistic about its development.
It is not all gloom if you ask me . I am of the opinion that
new kinds of jobs will be created but I am not sure how the
world will manage the transition and cushion the adverse
effect it might have on the short run . A Gartner report
states , that by 2020, AI will generate 2.3 million jobs ,
exceeding 1.8 million jobs that it is expected to be removed .
Also, many of the tech giants share the same opinion , for
example , IBM’ s chief digital officer , Bob Lord , agrees that
jobs will be lost but opines “ I firmly believe that
augmenting someone ’ s intelligence is going to get rid of the
mundane jobs . And allow us to rise up a level . That we
haven ’ t been able to do before and solve some really, really
hard problems .” as quoted by Techcrunch .
Also , it is
my candid
opinion
that AI
coupled
with other
emerging
technologies will be beneficial to countries like Nigeria
particularly in areas we have continued to record
monumental failure such as dealing with corruption ,
managing our natural resources , e-government etc . My
point is that Nigeria needs to eliminate human-to -human
interaction as much as possible, if we must move our
nation forward.
Let me conclude this piece by quoting Stephen Hawking
“ Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event
in the history of our civilisation or the worst . We simply do
not know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped
by AI, or ignored by it and side -lined , or conceivably
destroyed by it .”
Have you ever stopped to ask this introspective question on
how Artificial Intelligence might impact your career or
organisation ? I try to do this often because I have come to
realise that a number of businesses will become extinct
either because AI will affect them negatively or they fail to
proactively anticipate the future .
A McKinsey report after analysing some cases states ,
“ Artificial intelligence impact will most likely be substantial
in marketing and sales as well as supply- chain management
and manufacturing .”
The
same
report
states
that
“ AI
has
the
potential to create trillions of dollars of value across the
economy, if business leaders work to understand what it
can and cannot do .”
Looking at this critically, one would wonder how Nigeria ’ s
manufacturing industries would be able to compete with
their counterparts abroad who are massively adding AI -
powered tools and solutions to their production lines.
China , for example , has more or less made AI a major
priority , investing heavily so as to ensure the country stays
ahead. An increasing number of Chinese factories have
resorted to investing billions in robotics and intelligent
machines powered by AI. Honestly , I am of the opinion that
Nigeria and some other African countries will be on the
receiving end as we don ’ t seem to grasp what is ahead. How
would an average African entity that has not invested in AI
compete if and when singularity is achieved? It is nearly
impossible except for those that are truly prepared for the
AI revolution .
A number of studies have argued that AI and robots will
take over 50 per cent of human jobs in the next 30 years .
This is due to the exponential advancements in robotics ,
quantum computing and AI. According to a Computer
Science Professor at Rice University , Texas, Moshe Vardi ,
intelligent machines will take over jobs across various
fields, such as driving and even bank tellers while robots
would replace humans in different professions , and this will
immensely affect the landscape of human productivity .
The reality is that across the world , certain functions in
various workplaces are facing huge threats and it is all
thanks to advancement in technology. More than 30 per
cent of humans could lose their jobs in the next few
decades , according to various studies . Clerical workers for
instance , who perform tedious tasks such as writing reports
or working on spreadsheets are getting an easy replacement
with software but, what other jobs are under threat? Well, a
lot more such as data analysis, diagnosing health
conditions , carrying out criminal investigations , writing
annual reports , research, receptionists etc.
According to Richard and Daniel Susskind in their study
titled , “ The Future of the Professions ” , professions such as
medicine, law, accountancy and engineering , could bear the
first impact of the rise of the machines. If that is the case ,
why would we need a medical practitioner , when a robot
can read our complex physiology and prescribe ,
manufacture and distribute the exact blend of medication
necessary .
In the words of Bill Gates, if robots powered by AI continue
to steal jobs then it should be subjected to the same tax
regime as humans . I find this to be an interesting
proposition but if you bring it home then you’ d realise that
it actually means loss of revenue for governments . Let me
illustrate using company X with 1, 000 employees , as
stipulated in our laws , state governments are entitled to
collect personal income taxes. Now let ’ s say company X
decides to embrace AI in order to increase profitability but
this might lead to the sacking of 500 of its employees . What
this means is that though this organisation may become
more profitable , the state government will end up collecting
less personal income taxes even though they might pay
more taxes to the Federal Government. This may probably
come across like science fiction but I have no doubt that it ’ ll
be some of the likely problems policy makers will be
confronted with in the future so a proactive government
should start thinking about how to implement Bill Gate ’ s
suggestion.
A number of experts believe that AI might spell doom for
mankind depending on how it is applied. According to the
late high -profile physicist , Stephen Hawking , the emergence
of AI could be the “ worst event in the history of our
civilisation” unless society finds a way to control its
development. It is not just him that announced his fears ,
the Founder of SpaceX , Elon Musk, believes that the only
way for man to survive the AI onslaught is for our brains to
be merged with computers . But on the flip side , the Chief
Executive Officer of Facebook , Mark Zuckerberg, seems to
be one of the high profile individuals not worried about AI –
he is pretty optimistic about its development.
It is not all gloom if you ask me . I am of the opinion that
new kinds of jobs will be created but I am not sure how the
world will manage the transition and cushion the adverse
effect it might have on the short run . A Gartner report
states , that by 2020, AI will generate 2.3 million jobs ,
exceeding 1.8 million jobs that it is expected to be removed .
Also, many of the tech giants share the same opinion , for
example , IBM’ s chief digital officer , Bob Lord , agrees that
jobs will be lost but opines “ I firmly believe that
augmenting someone ’ s intelligence is going to get rid of the
mundane jobs . And allow us to rise up a level . That we
haven ’ t been able to do before and solve some really, really
hard problems .” as quoted by Techcrunch .
Also , it is
my candid
opinion
that AI
coupled
with other
emerging
technologies will be beneficial to countries like Nigeria
particularly in areas we have continued to record
monumental failure such as dealing with corruption ,
managing our natural resources , e-government etc . My
point is that Nigeria needs to eliminate human-to -human
interaction as much as possible, if we must move our
nation forward.
Let me conclude this piece by quoting Stephen Hawking
“ Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event
in the history of our civilisation or the worst . We simply do
not know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped
by AI, or ignored by it and side -lined , or conceivably
destroyed by it .”
