Artificial Intelligence (AI), be it in the form of automation, digitization or robotisation of operations continue to threaten workers, as the adoption of AI has led to job losses.
It is a rapidly growing phenomenon across the world, and anytime management moves to introduce any form of job automation, workers get on edge.
Workers now consider AI as their foremost competitor for jobs.
But experts believe AI also offers opportunities that workers need to explore to maintain and enhance their jobs.
In that regard, Speakers at the joint quadrennial Stanchart PMSU/UNICOF delegates’ conference in Accra urged labour unions to preoccupy themselves with measures for preparing workers to overcome the threat of AI.
The speakers, including Mrs. Mansa Nettey, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana, John Senanu Amegashie, General Secretary of Union of Industry Commerce & Finance Workers (UNICOF), Mr. Kofi Davoh, a former General Secretary of UNICOF and Austin Gamey, a renowned labour expert, all appreciated the AI phenomenon, and asked workers to prepare for more.
According to them, the only way to overcome the challenge of AI technology was to upscale their capacity and diversify their skills so that they can do more than what machine could do.
AI is taking on an increasingly important role in international discussions on the Internet. Recently in Dusseldorf, as part of the German G20 presidency, ministers responsible for their countries’ digitalization agendas met with other stakeholders to discuss policies for the digital future.
Also the issue of automation featured prominently in the recent 106th International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conference in Geneva under the theme, “The future of work.”
The impact of AI driven applications, alongside strategies for how to capitalize on the Internet’s vast opportunities for productivity and economic growth, were centre stage.
The ability of machines to exhibit advanced cognitive skills to process natural language, to learn, to plan or to perceive, makes it possible for new tasks to be performed by intelligent systems, sometimes with more success than humans.
By using AI-driven automation in existing industries, alongside using AI technologies in new emerging areas, artificial intelligence could vastly boost productivity and economic growth.
By Nii Adotey/adrdaily.com