South Africa’s big AI and jobs conundrum By Daniel Puchert

[Nat Quinn]

Industry analyst Arthur Goldstuck believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be viewed as a tool rather than something invasive and disruptive — and not spark the fear of redundancy.

South Africa faces an economic conundrum: how does it reconcile the disruption caused by AI with its unemployment rate and lack of skills?

Since the advent of large language models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, more people fear their jobs might be in jeopardy.

There is a term for this: fear of being obsolete (FOBO) — the anxiety surrounding being replaced by technological innovation.

The feeling of FOBO is not new. The Luddites experienced this in the early 19th century following the introduction of automated textile machinery, leading to mass protests to destroy programmable looms.

An additional factor was that early automated looms also reportedly had safety problems, sometimes causing life-altering injuries to the workers who remained to oversee them.

People living in the 21st century have cause to feel this anxiety. In its broadest sense, AI refers to computers exhibiting intelligence, which can be defined in many ways, including logic, the ability to learn, creativity, and critical thinking — everything humans use to do their jobs.

As mentioned in South Africa’s National AI Government Summit discussion document, AI is being given so much attention because “it is now able to perform the functions that were exclusively human brain function.”

It could be argued that introducing innovative technologies with a high chance of bringing about redundancy can be sustainable in a country with unemployment below 5%.

A study by Hasraddin Galiyev found a negative correlation between AI, machine learning, data science and unemployment when analysing the relationship in 24 high-tech developed countries between 2005 and 2021.

These countries included Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Finland, the US, and Japan — all of which were in the first section of the Global Innovation Index 2022 rankings.

However, South Africa is still trying to bring 32.9% of the population, or roughly 8.2 million people, out of unemployment.

So what does the country do?

Goldstuck, who is the founder of World Wide Worx and author of A Hitchhikers Guide to AI, told MyBroadband that instead of viewing AI in a fearful light, South Africa should be open to the new technology’s economic benefits.

Arthur Goldstuck, World Wide Worx MD

He used mathematics as an analogy. Maths can’t be blamed for what it has done or caused in the same way physics can’t be blamed for the atomic bomb.

Similarly, AI is a tool that can improve working conditions for humans who currently perform roles that can be absorbed by automation.

Goldstuck says that any job that can be replaced by automation is ultimately dehumanising and should be replaced by AI.

For instance, Ikea decided to employ an AI chatbot named Billie to manage its customer service call centres.

However, the 8,500 people previously employed in the call centres weren’t made redundant but instead upskilled to become remote interior designers — a business that made just under R24 billion in 2022.

Even when workers are made redundant by automation, production is often increased, which allows businesses to hire more employees.

Goldstuck mentioned the Ford assembly plant in Silverton, Pretoria, which spent R15.8 billion to upgrade and automate the factory.

The plant acquired 493 robots to transform stamped body parts into a complete Ford Ranger.

However, this did not cut jobs but boosted production and increased the factory’s headcount by 1,200 people.

On the other hand, according to Goldstuck, if call centres were to replace all employees with AI, it would lead to high customer dissatisfaction.

This is because of two things: chatbots can’t make decisions and can’t show empathy.

Companies wishing to employ AI as a customer service tool must understand that it will result in a dissatisfied client base.

Therefore, Goldstuck says adapting to bringing AI into the workforce will be a trial and error based on the tradeoffs businesses are willing to make.

AI will not provide the human elements many prefer when interacting with a product or service.

 

SOURCE:South Africa’s big AI and jobs conundrum – MyBroadband

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