Artificial Intelligence

AI comes with a combination of benefits and costs. The notion of a zero-sum game is often brought to the fore when considering the net winners and net losers of AI. The benefits of AI are often witnessed in improved industrialisation, efficiencies and service delivery. These often have a positive uplift to communities and societies. At the same time, AI often comes with costs across the dimensions of direct costs, indirect costs and opportunity costs. The fundamental costs often relate to people losing their jobs as these become automated thus in the absence of redirection, unlearning, learning and relearning, redundancies could become an outcome leading to increased unemployment. The call for a Future-Fit-AI workforce is therefore greater today. The workforce can access learning resources through the internet (where such is available). Organisations are also encouraged to introduce learning tracks that can help equip their workforce with AI education, knowledge and skills. Equally, educational and learning institutions from early childhood development to tertiary education are encouraged to adapt their learning syllabi to include AI. AI is now the new vocabulary. Recent trends in the manufacturing and supply of robots are changing dynamics in the labour market. Human beings by nature and coupled with legislative and regulatory support can only work a certain number of hours doing a shift. On the contrary, robots work 24/7/365.25 thus totally changing the dynamics of the factors of production. The opportunity space is now gravitating and centring towards how Governments and Society need to shift their perspective to AI and consider this as an opportunity and start encouraging and looking for opportunities to draw benefits from it. When embraced by all parties, AI represents a tectonic shift. It lifts up Governments, Businesses and Society. AI is the new language. AI is the new culture. AI is the now and future of business, consumption and living. Entrepreneurial capacity is required to improve in order to embrace AI. As some jobs are being made redundant and replaced, AI also introduces opportunities for new ventures to be formed. Impact AI works with Governments, Businesses and Communities to help them embrace and take opportunities that AI brings.

Numerous books, publications and academic (& professional) courses are being written to encourage organisations to effect the shift and transformation to AI First Organisation. At the sight of it, aspiring for an AI-first organisation could appear an unachievable task. Various tools, software, processes, frameworks and methodologies are being written on how such can be achieved. Aspiring to become an AI-first organisation should be seen, perceived and received as a noble cause by stakeholders. Implementing an AI First Organisations starts with understanding the organisation’s purpose then moving along and across the vision, mission, objectives, strategy and execution. At every level of interface, the amount of work required depends on the type, nature and form of the organisation. AI needs to be considered across the Value Chain as well as the Supply Chain to enable an organisation to leverage the full extent of the benefits and efficiencies that can be generated by AI. As most organisational leaders would have gone to school, college and university before the advancement of AI, every leader is encouraged to obtain some level of knowledge on AI. Numerous resources exist from freely available courses/content on the internet to accredited courses from formal institutions. Irrespective of the source of information, the investment required in learning about AI should not be understated. Impact AI works with Governments and Organisations to help them build and implement AI.

Given the impacts of AI to markets, customers and organisations, AI should become a key and core part of organisational strategies and operational processes. The evolution and maturity of organisations in adopting AI is moving at different paces by organisations, with an upward-looking trend emerging. AI is becoming (if not already) an everyday conversation within organisations, with at least one person mentioning the word AI somewhere in the myriad of daily conversations. AI is a definite reality. AI has implications and consequences to organisations. AI therefore needs to become part of the Board Agenda and Strategy. Ultimately, most processes, systems and technology will become AI-driven meaning organisations will be forced by external factors to implement AI. The implementation of AI within organisations requires a carefully crafted strategy,approach and process. Use Cases are beginning to emerge of where AI has been implemented and the corresponding results. Such a use case can be referenced for learning purposes, but the nuances of each use case will be different. AI, when harnessed properly can lead to huge positive and beneficial results to organisations and their stakeholder communities. Organisations should therefore invest in AI capabilities to harness the opportunities and benefits associated with AI. Impact AI works with organisations to assist them in building the AI organisation.

Developments in AI are generally developing at paces and rates that are broadly faster than those at which the developments in Government policy, legislative framework and regulatory environments are moving. Many National Governments are lagging behind AI developments leading to the emergence of a largely unregulated AI market which if not overseen, supervised, managed and monitored properly could have dire consequences. Governments therefore need to start taking an urgent and leading role in order to frame and guide the direction and evolution of AI appropriately. Such moves would bring peace to the average citizens who are often concerned about the emerging eventualities of AI. Governments need to start driving AI Policy discussions, leading to the formulation of the legislative framework and subsequent regulations. Lessons can be drawn from the United Kingdom, the EU and the USA on progress to date and learnings thus far. Impact AI provides services to Governments to help them with Policy Formulation, Drafting of Legislation, Implementation of Regulations and the supervision and monitoring thereof.