By Zuko Mdwaba,

Just as generative AI continues to open opportunities for businesses in Africa to change customer experiences and increase revenue, the benefits for workforce strategies and employees can be significant.

Indeed, executive urgency to incorporate AI tools into business operations has increased seven times over the past six months, according to Slack research.

The AI-powered future of work isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about employee experience – and it promises to redefine everything from careers to culture. But to make this future a reality, AI has to work for workers. Businesses need to create a workplace where humans and AI agents work successfully side-by-side.

To help employees understand where they are on their AI journey – and leaders know how best to support them -Slack’s Workforce Lab identified five distinct AI personas in the workplace today.

The biggest group currently are ‘Maximalists’ (30%), who use AI multiple times a week to improve their work. Next are ‘Undergrounds’ (20%), those who use AI often, but are hesitant to share with their colleagues that they are doing so.

Whereas ‘The Rebels’ (19%) avoid using AI and consider it unfair when coworkers engage with these tools, Superfans (16%) are excited, but aren’t yet making the most use out of it at work. Observers (16%) have yet to integrate AI into their work. They are watching with interest and caution.

By not adopting AI now, companies and employees alike risk missing out on tangible benefits — from improving efficiencies, to overall performance and productivity, to wellbeing.

Empowering employees to leave repetitive tasks to bots, so they can focus on more meaningful work isn’t just good for employees, it’s also good for business.

At Salesforce, we prioritised four enterprise-wide solutions designed to help enhance goal-setting, automate daily tasks, find information faster, and streamline support — all while freeing up our employee success and IT teams to focus on more complex tasks.

Making AI work for workers requires leaders reimagining how they develop and train every part of their organisation. With perspectives and experiences of AI among desk workers varying so widely, a tailored approach to AI enablement is essential to setting every employee up for success.

Three key actions leaders can take to encourage AI adoption are: creating a culture of continuous learning, giving visibility to use cases of AI, and encouraging experimentation.

Clear permission, guidance and training are critical to fostering AI adoption. Only 15% of desk workers say they have the education and training necessary to use AI effectively.

Those who are trained to use AI are up to 19x as likely to report that AI is improving their productivity.

Sharing how others are using and benefiting from AI tools, and troubleshooting AI use cases, will help clarify AI norms and encourage more employees to share their own AI learnings.

Thirdly, the benefits of creating a trusted environment where teams feel supported to try new technologies are clear. Desk workers who feel trusted by their employers are 94% more likely to have tried AI for work-related tasks.

This explains why at Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce announced plans to expand access to skilling opportunities with free AI training for anyone.

The company will waive all fees for its paid instructor-led courses and credentialing through the end of 2025, totaling an anticipated $52 million investment.

To support these efforts, Salesforce will open new spaces at its San Francisco headquarters, including a pop-up AI Center for in-person community AI training courses, and dedicated floor for employees to skill up on AI tools and agents.

Salesforce’s new offerings will help skill up the workforce to address this AI skills gap and set up workers for success now — and in the future.]

Across the company, Salesforce is helping upskill its 72,000 employees by introducing global quarterly AI learning days to give employees hands-on time with the latest AI innovations.

As we build a culture of experimentation and encourage people to find ways to improve work with AI, we also have to change how we measure impact.

Rather than measuring productivity through the lens of activity or input metrics—such as time spent on a task, focusing on defining clear outcomes—such as customer satisfaction or developing new product offerings—will encourage employees to shift from mere busywork to using their time to be creative and employing whatever tools they have to achieve those outcomes.

As AI innovation and workplaces continue to change fast, employers must evolve to help employees — and ultimately their customers — be successful.

Ensuring employees collect different experiences, skills, networks, and expertise with AI will allow them to thrive in the AI-driven future.

Grammy-nominated African music artist Ayra Starr will perform a special YouTube Live concert streamed globally from Nairobi, Kenya.

Ayra Starr

The event, produced in partnership with Raha Fest, will celebrate the release of her sophomore album, “The Year I Turned 21”, and will be available for fans worldwide to experience on her official YouTube channel.

Ayra Starr, who is known for her distinct melodies and soulful blend of Afrobeats and pop international attention with hits like “Bloody Samaritan” and “Rush”.

Her rise in the music world has been powered not just by her undeniable talent but also by platforms like YouTube, which have enabled African artists to connect with audiences globally.

This concert will offer fans an intimate experience as Ayra Starr will perform new tracks from “The Year I Turned 21” alongside other fan favourites.

The event will be livestreamed on YouTube, making it accessible to audiences all around the world, giving them the chance to be part of this special moment.

Fans, Mobstarrs, as she calls them will also have the opportunity to engage directly with Ayra Starr through the “Woman Commando” YouTube Shorts challenge, allowing them to create and share their own interpretations of her hit single.

Additionally, exclusive behind-the-scenes content will be captured, adding another layer of excitement to the experience, which will be shared on YouTube.

Nairobi, with its vibrant music scene, deep roots in African culture, and a youth population that adores Ayra Starr, was chosen as the perfect setting for this electrifying performance.

Ayra’s growing fan base across Kenya and East Africa makes the city a fitting backdrop for her first YouTube Live concert.

Speaking about the concert, Ayra Starr said, “Performing live is where I get to connect deeply with my fans, and I’m so excited to do this on a global scale from Nairobi.

“This album means so much to me, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone through YouTube.”

Addy Awofisayo, head of Music Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, shared, “We are thrilled to host this Ayra Starr’s YouTube Live concert in partnership with Raha Fest.

“YouTube is not just a platform for music, but a place where artists from all over the world can connect directly with fans, no matter where they are.

“We’ve seen African music grow tremendously on YouTube, and this concert is a continuation of that journey—bringing Ayra Starr’s incredible talent to a global stage.”

“Raha Fest is proud to partner with YouTube to present an unforgettable music experience with the sensational Ayra Starr! By merging Kenya’s bustling creative scene with global acts, we’re fostering a cultural exchange and positioning Kenya as a global destination for tourism and entertainment,” said Ashleigh Ali, chief executive officer, Raha Creative Kenya.

YouTube has always been a major force in promoting African music to the world. More than 70% of watch time on content produced by channels in Nigeria comes from outside of Nigeria, showcasing how YouTube has provided a global audience for African music.

The platform continues to be a key player in amplifying the voices of artists like Ayra Starr, who are shaping the sound of today’s music.

Fans around the world can tune in to watch the concert live on October 20, 2024, at 9 PM EAT on Ayra Starr’s official YouTube channel: YouTube.com/AyraStarr.

As part of efforts to enhance content moderation and create a safer platform for users, TikTok has announced the removal of 2.1 million videos in Nigeria.

The videos were said to have violated the company’s communities guidelines during the second quarter of 2024.

According to the Community Guidelines Enforcement Report shared on Tuesday, the removed videos represent less than 1 per cent of the total uploads in Nigeria during the reporting period.

“Key findings show that 99.1 per cent of these videos were proactively removed before users reported them, with 90.7 per cent taken down within 24 hours.

“These figures highlight TikTok’s commitment to staying ahead of harmful content, ensuring a safer platform for Nigerian users,” the report noted.

TikTok noted promised to continue to invest in technologies aimed at improving content moderation, while understanding potential risks, reinforcing its dedication to transparency and platform safety for its diverse user base in Nigeria and worldwide.

The removal is not just in Nigeria, TikTok said it globally removed over 178 million videos in June 2024, with 144 million of those removals facilitated through automated systems.

“With a proactive detection rate now at 98.2 per cent globally, TikTok is more efficient than ever at addressing harmful content before users encounter it,” the short-form mobile video platform stated.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a private global company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.