Lack of AI training perpetuates inequality in the African workforce

Autonomous machines can improve farmers’ working conditions.

THE WORLD is grappling with the reality of job losses that could come with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). According to a report by TRT Africa, 83 million jobs will be rendered obsolete due to AI, an estimated 69 million new job opportunities will be created, creating a net 14 million jobs by 2030 thanks to technological advances.

A World Economic Forum (WEF) study published on April 30, 2023, predicted that by 2027, approximately 14 million jobs would be lost worldwide due to AI.

The reality of job losses is glaring when you consider the sad truth that the use of AI in decision-making has grown exponentially in sectors such as finance, national security, healthcare, criminal justice, and transportation, as well as agriculture.

Job losses are inevitable, mainly due to staff reductions.

To this end, African countries, and particularly Southern Africa, must prepare for the impending job losses.

The TRT Africa report confirms this fact, noting that the rise of AI could make millions of workers redundant by 2030, while creating a significantly larger number of new jobs that will require technical skills.

The fact that the new jobs that will be created by AI will require technical skills makes it clear beyond any doubt that they will be available to students who attended schools where STEM subjects were taught, or at least where these subjects are included.

In Africa and South Africa, these schools are generally located in urban areas, especially in leafy suburbs or in schools with well-equipped laboratories, but not in urban areas.

Given the above, South Africa needs to develop well-considered strategies that ensure that science is taught in every segment of local schools.

Southern African countries can pass a law that there is a grant/fund for marginalized and rural schools to enable them to teach STEM subjects. This fund will operate in the same way as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The aim of the project will be to promote the construction and equipping of rural schools with science and computer laboratories, employ efficient science teaching staff, and provide sustainable energy solutions to maintain the operation of these educational centres.

The fact is that if this grant for STEM subjects in rural schools is used, rural, farming and marginalized communities will have equal opportunities to access a range of technical skills in technology and AI.

As a result, this will enable these students to apply for jobs requiring the use of AI, provided they possess the necessary technical skills.

This thesis was supported by the African Development Bank (ADB) in its 2019 TRT Africa report, which predicted that by 2030, some 100 million young people on the continent would be unable to find any new jobs, citing technological factors as one of the reasons for this shortage.

Taking into account the above observations of the African Development Bank, it is a fact that the most affected will be students who have not completed science subjects.

Therefore, promoting STEM grants for the development of rural schools will be a very noble action as it will provide students from rural areas with access to STEM lessons.

However, in addition to simply facilitating access to computer and science labs, it is also necessary to provide sustainable energy and qualified science teachers who can ensure that rural students acquire AI skills.

STEM subjects are becoming important for today’s students because they prepare them to function in the job market and to be innovators who can create employment opportunities for others.

Similarly, those already employed should seek to improve their skills and pay attention to the technological requirements of AI to increase their relevance and productivity, rather than treating the technology as a threat.

With this strategy, AI will not pose a threat to students and workers already working in the industry, as they will gain the necessary skills that will remain relevant in the job market, and will not be at risk of losing relevance due to a lack of studying science subjects or a lack of opportunities to improve their qualifications.

As Kariuk points out in the TRT Africa report, this evolution is like any other. We can consider the evolution that took place in 1971, when the computer was invented. At that time, certain job positions changed, including typists, messengers and data entry workers.

Employers also have a key role to play in protecting their employees from the impacts of AI, especially in the context of job losses caused by new skill requirements.

Modern employee upskilling is important to protect loyal and hardworking employees from becoming irrelevant in the face of the advent of technologies such as artificial intelligence.

In other words, employers need to protect their loyal and hardworking employees from layoffs by providing them with new training and professional development to meet the demands of the future.

In agricultural cultivation, the tractor can plow without a driver.

This has been noticed by Bloomberg, where tractors plow fields without drivers, controlled by satellites and operated by phones.

Solar-powered robots, like giant Roombas, tend to crops on the ground, while drones fly above the ground, spraying crops.

It may sound like science fiction — but it may actually be the future of farming in America, and the technology is already being used in vineyards in California and cornfields in Illinois.

Automation and artificial intelligence promise to revolutionize an industry that has long resisted change.

But the world cannot mourn over job losses because “every cloud has a bright side.”

The only positive thing may be the fact that AI can help create new jobs in the healthcare, education, agriculture, social services and construction sectors.

A McKinsey & Company report estimates that by 2030, machines, artificial intelligence and advanced robotics could lead to the loss of 3.3 million jobs in South Africa.

Forecasts assumed the creation of about 4.5 million jobs, translating into a net gain of 1.2 million new employment opportunities.

The study also found that the nature of the new 1.2 million jobs is not yet known, although they will be related to the technology sector.

According to a McKinsey study, more than 570,000 new jobs will be created in the health care and social assistance sector, and more than 260,000 in the construction sector.

The same study also forecasts that this growth is likely to occur in scientific and technical services (112,000), educational services (110,000), arts and entertainment (48,000), accommodation and food services (28,000) and wholesale trade (23,000).

A similar position was expressed by Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, who said she “does not believe that robots will simply take people’s jobs.

“Technology can free people from routine, repetitive work and enable them to undertake higher-level tasks, make decisions and think critically,” McKinsey and Company said in a report.

• Mabhachi is an independent journalist and activist for radio spectrum management. — (email protected) and Sibanda is a researcher and expert in digital communications. — (email protected)

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