THE world is grappling with the reality of job losses that may come because of the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As per the TRT Africa report, 83 million job positions would be declared obsolete due to AI, some 69 million new job opportunities will arise, creating a 14-million net of jobs by 2030 due to technological advancement.  

Making a prediction about job losses due to AI, a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey published on April 30, 2023 estimated that some 14 million jobs will be lost globally by 2027.

The reality of job losses is glaring given the sad reality that the use of AI in decision — making has grown exponentially with several sectors such as finance, national security, healthcare, criminal justice and transportation as well as agriculture.

Job losses are imminent largely as a result of employees’ redundant roles. 

To this end, countries in Africa and Southern Africa in particular need to prepare for this impending net job loses.

The TRT Africa report supports this fact by noting that the advent of AI could declare millions of employees’ roles redundant by 2030, but at the same time create a significantly high number of new jobs that require technical skills.

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The fact that the new jobs that will be created by AI will require technical skills explains beyond any shadow of doubt that they will be accessed by pupils who will have attended schools teaching STEM subjects or at least disciples which incorporate STEM subjects.

In Africa and Southern Africa these schools are generally found in urban areas, particularly in leafy suburbs or perhaps schools with well-equipped laboratories but not in the urban areas. 

In view of the foregoing, Southern Africa must put deliberate strategies that ensure that STEM subjects are taught in every segment of their community schools.

Southern African countries can legislate that there be a grant/fund for marginalised and rural schools to make it possible for them to teach STEM subjects. This fund will work in the same manner as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Its use will be to promote the building and equipping of rural schools with Science and Computer Laboratories, employ efficient STEM teaching staff and provide sustainable energy solutions to keep these education centres running.

It is a fact that if this rural schools STEM subjects grant is availed it will give equal opportunities to rural, farming and marginalised communities to access several technological and AI technical skills.

Consequently, this will allow these students to compete for the AI powered jobs, given that they would now possess the necessary technical skills.

This point was buttressed by the African Development Bank (ADB) in the TRT Africa Report that, in 2019 it was projected that some 100 million youth on the continent will not be able to find any new jobs by 2030, with technological factors cited as part of the causes for the scarcity.

Going by the above observation by the African Development Bank it is fact that students that will not have done STEM subjects will be the most affected.

Hence promoting STEM grant for rural schools development will be very noble to ensure that rural pupils access STEM lessons.

However, apart from just facilitating computer laboratories and Science exprienents laboratories there is also need to provide sustainable energy and capable STEM teachers that can guarantee AI skills transfer to rural students.  

The STEM issue becomes important for modern students so that they are prepared for the job market as well as to be innovators, which can create job opportunities for others.

The same goes for those already in employment they should attempt to up-skill and watch out of AI technological requirements to enhance their suitability and productivity, instead of considering technology as a threat. 

With this kind of strategy, AI will not be a threat to pupils and workers already in the industry as they will earn skills necessary that remain relevant in the job market and not suffer irrelevance through not having studied STEM subjects or lack upskilling. 

This evolution is like any other, we can take the evolution of when the computer was invented in 1971, there were job positions that were affected and these included typists, messengers and data entry clerks among others, according Kariuk in the TRT Africa report.

Employers also need to play a key role in cushioning their employees against the effects of AI, especially with respect to job losses coming because of new skills requirement. 

Contemporary skills upgrade for employees is important to protect these loyal and hardworking employees from becoming irrelevant during the advent of technologies such as AI.

In other words, employers need to safeguard their loyal and diligent employees from becoming redundant by ensuring new training and career development to reposition them for the demands of the future.

In agriculture land tillage, a tractor can plough without a driver.

This has been noted by Bloomberg where tractors plough the farm fields without drivers, guided by satellites and operated through phones.

Solar powered robots tend to plants on the ground like giant outdoor Roombas, while drones fly overhead spraying the crops.

It may sound like science fiction — perhaps it is actually the future of agriculture in America, and it is already being deployed in California vineyards and corn fields in Illinois.

Automatic and artificial intelligence promise to usher in a revolutionary shift for an industry long averse to change. 

However, the world cannot weep a funeral dirge in terms of job losses as ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

The silver lining could be that AI can also lead to the creation of jobs in the healthcare, education, agriculture, social services sector and construction.

The report by McKinsey & Company estimate that machine, artificial intelligence and advance robotics could lead to the loss of 3,3 million existing jobs in South Africa by 2030.

Their projections were that some 4,5 million jobs will be created, causing a net gain of 1,2 million new employment opportunities.

This survey also said the nature of the new 1,2 million jobs is yet to be known, though they would be in the technological sector.

More than 570 000 new jobs will be in the healthcare and social assistance sectors and more than 260 000 in the construction sector, the Mckinsey study says.

The same study also projects that the increase will likely be witnessed in scientific and technical services (112 000), educational services (110 000), arts and entertainment (48 000), accommodation and food services (28 000), and wholesale trade (23 000).

This was also echoed by Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, who says “he does not believe that robots are just going to eat up people’s jobs.

Technology can free people from routine, repetitive work and enable them to take on higher level work, decision making and critical thinking” as quoted in the Mckinsey and Company report.

  • Mabhachi is a freelance journalist and radio spectrum management activist. — mediatechzim@gmail.com and Sibanda is a researcher and digital communications expert. — nkosppolo@gmail.com