Five Sectors Artificial Intelligence Will Disrupt in Kenya

by Noelyne Sumba

The 21ST century has been marked by many technological advancements. We have experienced the real meaning of change is constant and it is, of course, a wonderful time to live in.

The recent and latest exciting advancement is Artificial Intelligence commonly referred to as AI.

In layman’s terms, AI is a machine with the ability to solve problems that are usually done by humans with our natural intelligence.

The computer basically learns how to improve itself as it solves these problems.

AI is going to be more impactful than the invention of the computer and when you see companies like Facebook investing in AI research labs, you need to pay attention.

This is definitely going to affect our lives in future in terms of jobs that are currently being carried out by human beings.

I need not go into details on what happened to Nokia as a result of not adapting to changes in the business environment and even our very own Postal Corporation of Kenya which is struggling to survive as a result of the current business trends which pose a threat to its existence.

Related: Here are Top 11 Techs to Watch in the next 10 Years 

Instead of being on the knife-edge as a business owner or an employee it is better for you to understand and adapt to the coming changes in these jobs:

• Taxi, delivery and truck drivers

Autonomous cars are already in use in countries such as Singapore. Uber announced that they would implement driverless taxis in Pittsburgh in future.

This is going to be the trend because autonomous cars do not require rest and are more attentive to the road hence suitable in preventing accidents which a developing country such as Kenya is a major concern.

Read: 5 Ways Technology Trends Have Shaped the Travel Sector 

• Farmers

large-scale farmers are going to have to up their game in terms of ensuring quality and consistent production if they want to meet the demand of the increasing global population.

Companies are developing and programming autonomous robots to handle essential agricultural tasks such as harvesting crops at a higher volume and faster pace than human laborers, crop and soil monitoring and to also track and predict various environmental impacts on crop yield such as weather changes.

• Cashiers, Bank tellers, Stock traders and Accountants

A lot need not be said on this fintech era where no one needs to really spend hours on bank lines in order to get served by bank tellers.

The impact on bank teller jobs is going to be worse than that caused by the introduction of ATMs. It is very unlikely that banks will be employing tellers in future. Same goes for cashiers where Amazon is already test-driving cashier less stores.

AI developers are coming up with software that can be able to automate accounting and hence there will be minimal or no need for a physical accountant.

The same principle applies on stockbroking where there are already robots that are controlling the stock market trading.

• Manufacturing industry and construction workers

Working in the manufacturing industry is very much machine-intensive. Any changes in technology is likely to be embraced by manufacturers as they intend to lower production costs as they maximize production.

Construction workers are being replaced with machines which are capable of working faster and are less susceptible to mistakes.

• Printers and publishers

Gone are the days when you had to wait for the morning paper in order to get the news of the day.

Studies reveal that print is not appealing to millennials. Traditional media is suffering as a result of the internet and this is only just the beginning for the industry.

Traditional magazines are not left behind on this as information can be accessed anywhere and anytime. With the widespread of e-reading and e-learning publishers have also got to be on the lookout as they just might run out of business soon.

Ms. Noelyne Sumba works at Soko Directory as a Data Analyst.