ASAFE invests on Artificial intelligence and the future Job market

As part of promoting awareness on Artificial intelligence and it varied impacts ASAFE organized a zoom presentation and discussion on November 15, 2024 on the subject of discussion: Artificial intelligence (AI) and the future Job Market.

Following a brief remark and the introduction of the assistance and in Limbe,Cameroon by the President of ASAFE, Gisele Yitamben, the floor was cleared online for Elaine Bradbee who is an Instructional Designer at the Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) Unit within the Centre for Enhanced Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of New Brunswick in New Brunswick, Canada. to walk members and participants across the topic in discussion. Gisele then told the assistance that it was compelling that the job market of the future will seriously be affected by

Artificial intelligence, the scope being part of the package that the guest has for the day. She then introduced Mrs. Elaine Bradbee.

While lauding the initiative of the ASAFE Cameroon for organizing such a discussion, Mrs. Elaine Bradbee told the assistance that current statistics proved that AI was making a serious breakthrough in the job market thus proofing how the future job market will significantly be dependent on Artificial intelligence. She revealed that 72% of global organizations were

dependent on AI in functioning and 75% declaring that AI was significantly impacting on their activities. According to Elaine Bradbee, AI is mostly used in marketing and sales as well as produce development, electricity industries and professional services with users claiming a rise in income.

In defining the areas in the job market that are or will be affected by AI, Elaine Bradbee said that the future will need AI Engineers, Robotics, Software, Data and Big data Engineers, Researchers in AI as well as AI Products managers. According to the Host the job markets in which AI will seriously be involved in the future are:

1. Health where AI will gather patients’ data, transcribe and carry out predictive analysis, diagnosis, treatment as well as the discovery of new medicine. She further revealed that Patients could be monitored from afar and clinical test decision being more precise.

2. Manufacturing industries. It will be possible for twining companies to carry on production processes piloted by AI that optimize production.

3. At the level of Accounting, AI will greatly contribute in limiting loss in finance as well as produce credible balance sheets at short notice. It can detect fraud with more efficiency, assist in the putting in place a personalized banking system, handle reception, modelling clients and carrying out productive analysis. On top of that, AI can carry out stock forecast and organize supply. It can as well facilitate negotiations at the stock exchange through data that it makes available. Finally, AI can enhance the putting in place of regulatory frameworks due to its automation status Issues concerning the negative effects of AI were raised and the host replied that there were many. Some of the negative effects raised were those of imprecision in some of the actions carried out by AI, the explicability of its operations, impact on the environment and ethical question. “One other aspect is that of personal integrity, critical spirit of the AI, Citation and attributions of stuff produced by AI and issues of national security“, Elaine Bradbee explained. She however cautioned that there was need for a legal framework guarding intellectual property, practices in gathering data, details on use of data, consumption and stocking. “There are weak and inexistent rules on how Data are kept”, she cautioned. She lauded the participation spirit exhibited by the assistance, meaning that the issue of AI was of interest. She promised to be around again if the COP invited her to discuss on another domain of the wide topic of AI and the future in general.

The meeting rose up at 3:00 PM with closing remarks from Gisele Yitamben. She cautioned that Africa needs to see Artificial intelligence as something can improve something for them. “Generally, Africans have to find their own needs in the AI evolution. This therefore mean that they must get themselves or else wait to see AI come to serve interest that alien to African values and interest. Here remarks were followed by a group picture in the hall of ASAFE where the event took place. After the picture, discussions continued among the participants right to the late

hours after closure.