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AI Adoption: Akindeinde Assures Nigerians on Jobs, Calls for Up-Skilling of Knowledge

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Dr Oluseyi Akindeinde, Founder, Hyperspace and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) NeuRaL AI, has said that AI adoption as disruptive as it may be, would not take away people’s jobs rather it would enhance their productivity.

Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, co-founder, Hyperspace Technologies Limited

Dr Akindeinde made this assertion at the NITRA ICT Growth Conference 4.0, organised by Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) and was held on Wednesday, 28th of August, 2024, at the CitiHeight Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

The event themed “Impact of AI on National Development: Prospects, Policies, and Challenges in Nigeria” hosted industry players to brainstorm on the prospects and also proffer solutions to challenges of Artificial Intelligence’s adoption in Nigeria.

Akindeinde also asserted that up-skilling of knowledge is a crucial requirement for sustainable AI adoption in Nigeria.

To discuss the topic Akindeinde started with the challenges facing AI adoption in Nigeria which includes phobia that it would disrupt and sack people from their jobs.

He assured Nigerians that AI would not take their jobs, maintaining that the problem with Nigerians is that there is always fear whenever a piece of technology is introduced in the country.

“Any time there is new technology that comes in, there is that phobia, there is that fear that it is going to be disruptive, yes, it is disruptive but when a piece of technology is disruptive that means it can do things cheaper, it can do things faster and it can do things better.

“But some of the challenges are based on the assumption that AI is going to take our jobs, and because it is going to take our jobs, the first thing is to push it back and will not allow it.

“I am here to assure that AI is not going to take anybody’s job, it is the same thing about 25 years ago when we started hearing about internet, even Journalists felt at a time, are we still going to have newspaper, anybody can just go online and have a blog and start reporting, you know, are we still going to have TV since somebody would go on Youtube and upload a video.

“And if you look back you recall how information was consumed back then, when something happened you probably wouldn’t hear about that event until, maybe, 7 o’clock news or 9 o’clock news or the following day when the newspapers will report it, but when the internet came, it democratized information dissemination. The same thing is happening with artificial intelligence,” he said.

Akindeinde further stated that rather than take away jobs, Artificial intelligence is going to help Nigerians, adding that the intelligence is still artificial.

“Whatever you are currently doing it is going to help your operation, it is not going to take your job because at the end of the day AI is artificial intelligence. Now for it to work that means something has existed which is human intelligence.

“That human intelligence has being with human for ages, which it put together to make artificial intelligence and the thing about AI is that the things humans find difficult to do, that is what AI is doing. The things we find easy to do, AI cannot do them.

“For instance, if I keep my phone on a platform and I said go into the room and pick my phone on the table, now the AI because you programmed it for the table, it will come back to tell you I can’t find your phone.

“But the human being will say okay, it is not on the table, it is elsewhere, he will pick it, but what humans find difficult, is what AI does better.

“As a Reporter, AI would make your job better; there is an app in the phone that as I am speaking, it is recording and not only recording, once I say stop, everything recorded, it would transcribe everything.

“Another person who doesn’t have it would use one hour transcribing the recording, but the AI would do that second, so right now you can be more productive.

He said AI can also be used in the movie industry, saying that AI can listen to every conversation in a movie and transcribe in two minutes what would take one week or more to transcribe.

He muted the idea of the need for training for Journalists on AI so that they will understand the workings of AI for proper information dissemination.

Speaking about the impact of AI on education, he said that Africa is wired for consumption, adding that they don’t produce and they don’t do things that affect the global economy all because of the educational system.

He gave the instance of China where their educational system permits them to teach their children in their local language, the language they understand.

“With AI when you are teaching in English it will be appearing to the person in his own language, everything is converted on the spot, it is not as if they are going to translate it, it is not as if you are going to teach Igbo teacher mathematics, no, AI can do that for you on the spot.”

Akindeinde disclosed further that AI can also help a vision impaired person by deploying a vision model to know what is happening around them.

He decried the absence of skilled personnel among professionals for adjudication and or regulation of issues relating to IA, he therefore suggested that lawyers, Journalists, doctors and others should go for training to up-skill their knowledge on the workings of AI.

During the panel session he also tackled the question if Nigeria has the requisite skill to embrace the concept of artificial intelligence, he said that Nigerians do not have the requisite skill right now.

According to him, “So, one of the things we have noted is that we don’t have that skill, even the regulator as well because the challenge is that technology will always precede regulation but if you want to regulate you can’t regulate what you don’t understand.

“How come we had protest, and we cannot use AI to identify those who were looting, stealing or causing destruction, I know in other climes they have a data base where they can actually tell you the person.

“But in other to do all these you need the skill, you need the understanding of the piece of technology that you are going to be dealing with.”

He added that AI as a piece of technology, a general all-purpose technology that can be used across several industries, just like the internet.

He said, “It is technology for everybody and there is no special internet engineer because everybody has skill, internet skill, because we know it will help us.”


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

E-Business

IDC Predicts Artificial Intelligence to Contribute $19.9 Trillion to the Global Economy through 2030

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New research from IDC entitled, The Global Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Economy and Jobs, predicts that business spending to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), to use AI in existing business operations, and to deliver better products/services to business and consumer customers will have a cumulative global economic impact of $19.9 trillion through 2030 and drive 3.5% of global GDP in 2030.

As a result, AI will affect jobs across every region of the world, impacting industries like contact center operations, translation, accounting, and machinery inspection. Helping to trigger this shift are business leaders who almost unanimously, 98%, view AI as a priority for their organizations.

AI’s Net Positive Global Economic Impact

According to the research, in 2030, every new dollar spent on business-related AI solutions and services will generate $4.60 into the global economy, in terms of indirect and induced effects. This is determined by:

  • Increased spending on AI solutions and services driven by accelerated AI adoption
  • Economic stimulus among AI adopters, seeing benefits in terms of increased production and new revenue streams
  • Impact along the whole AI providers supply chain, increasing revenue for the providers of essential supplies to AI solutions and services providers

“In 2024, AI entered a phase of accelerated development and deployment defined by widespread integration that’s led to a surge in enterprise investments aimed at significantly optimizing operational costs and timelines,” said Lapo Fioretti, Senior Research Analyst, Emerging Technologies and Macroeconomics, IDC. “By automating routine tasks and unlocking new efficiencies, AI will have profound economic consequences, reshaping industries, creating new markets, and altering the competitive landscape.”

Impact on Employment — New Roles Emerge While Others Remain Resilient

The majority of respondents to IDC’s Future of Work Employees Survey expect some (48%) or most (15%) parts of their work to be automated by AI and other tech over the next two years, while only a minority (3%) of employees expect their jobs to be fully automated by AI.

While some work will be negatively impacted by the proliferation of AI, new positions such as AI Ethics Specialists and AI Prompt Engineers will emerge as dedicated roles within global organizations.

The research further indicates that a ‘human touch intensity,’ combined with the level of ‘task repetitiveness’ by which each job is characterized, will inform organizations about roles that are subject to a full AI and automation replacement, versus those where tech’s role will be to augment human capabilities. As such, positions where human social and emotional capabilities are critical, such as nursing and roles where decision-making encompasses ethics and comprehension beyond numbers will remain robust.

“Understandably, we’re all curious to know if AI will replace our jobs,” said Rick Villars, Group Vice President, Worldwide Research, IDC. “As a CEO interviewed by IDC’s Andrea Siviero said, ‘Based on this research it’s clear that we should be asking ourselves how our jobs can be made easier and better by AI. AI will not replace your job but someone who knows how to use AI better than you will.’”

Research Methodology

To estimate the overall economic impact of a technology or a service, IDC developed an economic impact methodology that combines IDC knowledge of the market and internal data with a standard analytical framework, known as an Economic Impact Analysis.

It leverages an input-output (I/O) framework, using the most updated input-output official tables of a specific economy: through I/O tables, specific multipliers are determined and applied to the specific technologies to calculate the related effect.

This IDC Economic Impact Analysis evaluates three types of impact on the economy. In this AI-specific model, these are:

Direct Effect — Includes revenues from artificial intelligence business solutions/services providers directly selling their products to end users.

Indirect Effect — Refers to the economic impact related to the AI supply chain and AI adopters’ benefits. It includes the effects that organizations/tech providers have on the region or country due to their operations related to AI provision.

Backward indirect effects refer to the economic effects on supply chains and industries that provide inputs to AI-driven sectors — in other words, revenues generated in local industries impacted by AI.

Forward indirect effects refer to the effects on AI adopters, excluding consumers, that benefit from the adoption of AI technology, in terms of productivity, revenue growth, and other business parameters.

Induced Effect — These are effects induced by the increase in production. It refers to the impact, due to economic stimulus, from an increase in household income, including existing and new employees linked to the AI value chain across direct and indirect effects layers. People will spend part of their wages in the economy, thus generating additional economic impact.

“The importance of economic impact models is increasing. This type of analysis can be of importance for any vendor who wants to understand the impact of its specific products or services in a short or medium-term period.

“It helps not only businesses but also governments and other stakeholders make informed decisions by evaluating the potential benefits of a technology investment, for example, to the economy,” said Carla La Croce, Research Manager, Data and Analytics, IDC.

The IDC report, The Global Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Economy and Jobs: AI will Steer 3.5% of GDP in 2030 (Doc #US51057924), assesses the impact of artificial intelligence in terms of economic output and employment.

This assessment leverages IDC’s knowledge of the market and internal data, as well as IDC’s Economic Impact model, which considers the direct, indirect, and induced effects of AI in the economy.

“The study delves into the global impact of AI on the economy, diving deep into specific regions, technology layers, and industries. The goal is to assess AI’s cumulative contributions to the economy with respect to the forecast global GDP in 2030.

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Konga Health To Appoint Resellers for L’Oreal Dermatological Beauty Products and others Nationwide

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Konga Health in partnership with L’Oréal, a global leader in premium skincare, has announced the appointment of prospective authorized professional resellers of its high-demand products.

Konga Health

This exciting opportunity offers structured Nigerian retailers, wholesalers, healthcare professionals, and structured online sellers a chance to join the growing network of resellers for world-renowned brands such as CeraVe, La Roche-Posay and others.

The partnership between L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty and Konga Health has been instrumental in bringing genuine top-tier skincare solutions to the Nigerian market. With a commitment to providing access to premium, dermatologist-recommended skincare products, this new initiative is set to expand the brand’s presence while offering businesses a profitable opportunity to grow their offerings.

This initiative is open to various business models, whether you’re a retail store, an online seller, a wholesaler, or a healthcare professional—be it a dermatologist, pharmacist, or aesthetician.

The beauty industry has shown tremendous growth globally, and partnering with L’Oréal through Konga Health presents a unique chance to expand your portfolio with premium skincare brands that practically sell themselves.

L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty is known for its science-backed products, trusted by dermatologists and healthcare professionals around the world.

Joining this network of professional resellers means gaining access to some of the most highly regarded skincare products, enabling resellers to meet the growing demand for effective, high-quality skincare solutions.

As an authorized reseller, businesses will benefit from a number of advantages. These include high-profit margins, pre- and post-sales support, comprehensive marketing materials, and product training.

Additionally, the L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty brand enjoys strong nationwide recognition, ensuring that resellers can tap into a large and loyal customer base.

To apply, interested businesses and healthcare professionals should visit: konga.com/resellers, email – [email protected] or call 0907 003 8627 for more information. Applications are open to both new and existing businesses seeking to enhance their offerings and tap into the growing demand for premium skincare products.

 


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NOTAP to Strengthen IP Rights in Nigeria

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National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has restated its commitments to strengthen the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of Nigerian innovators and inventors to boost the creative ability of people to develop solutions to the many challenges confronting the people.

NOTAP to Strengthen IP Rights in Nigeria

Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general of NOTAP, made this known in a news conference in Abuja recently to commemorate the   2024  African Day  for Technology and Intellectual Property  Rights, with the theme “Leveraging Technology and IPRs to Drive the Renewed Hope Agenda”

The NOTAP boss  said  the  commemoration,  observed by all African countries  on September 13 every year,  is important because  it will help to facilitate  the domestication of  technology and the development of IPRs in African states  to assist people to develop  solutions  to the many  challenges  confronting the continent  to eradicate  poverty and drive  sustainable development.

Amadiobi said that “NOTAP as an agency has the added responsibility of promoting inventions and innovations of Nigerian researchers and has not failed in pursuing the mandate especially in sensitising the research community and the general public on the vital role of IPR in Nigeria’s technological development.”

She noted that  these responsibilities were carried out through the establishment of over sixty-five (65) Intellectual Property and Technology Transfers Offices (IPTIOs) across the length and breadth of Nigeria;

Processing of over one thousand (1,000) patent applications received and submitted to the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry; Granting of assistance to researchers at no cost in the acquisition of over three hundred (300) patent certificates from the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry.

She added that 70 of these patent certificates have been commercialised in the Nigerian markets and five (5) in the international markets; while the agency has also launched and distributed  publication on “Guidelines for Commercialization of R&D results in Nigeria”; Identification and publishing of a compendium of viable R&D results from various research sectors in Nigeria and Sustained engagements with stakeholders in the National Innovation System (NIS) to facilitate the commercialization of viable R&D products.

She said that an initiative has been taken to develop market ready products and industry trained academia through NOTAP, Industry and Academia linkage project as NOTAP- Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) which has successfully witnessed the engagement of 21 fellows, viable products and generation of valuable Patents.

“To strengthen research and development infrastructure, NOTAP is also engaging the private sector to upgrade laboratories in various tertiary institutions across the country,” she added.

She also reaffirmed NOTAP’s commitment to guiding the process of technology transfer and promotion of IPRs to shore up indigenous inventors and innovators in order to drive progress and harness the benefits of innovation and creativity for the development of Nigeria to build a greater future for us all.


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