According to Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, while artificial intelligence (AI) may eventually replace some occupations, it also creates new jobs that are much more valuable economically.
The minister stated that the government was looking into both the possibilities for improvement and possible employment losses brought about by AI in a podcast with Sanny Ntayombya of The New Times.
“And perhaps losing jobs shouldn’t be the question. I believe it’s the duties that are cut because you might still have your work; a particular job profile, but specific tasks within that position,” she clarified.
Ingabire emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) can perform certain activities more effectively than humans, negating the necessity for human intervention.
Rwanda hopes to become a center of innovation and will soon be home to several large international tech businesses, including Oracle, which will establish cloud computing infrastructure in the nation, and InstaDeep, which will carry out AI research and solutions for Africa.
According to Norbert Haguma, a fintech and blockchain technology specialist in the area, this estimate is a key sign of the transformative potential of AI in the nation. It reflects the idea that AI can spur economic growth, innovation, and efficiency in a variety of industries, including financial services, healthcare, and agriculture, all of which can increase GDP.
“Now, that relates to how we restructure our educational system so that it can keep up with the disruption that artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, robotics, and other automation-related developments will bring about,” the speaker stated.
According to Ingabire, the world may even have new technologies in ten years that no one has even considered yet, which might drastically alter current patterns.
She also emphasized the significance of reevaluating the strategies for upskilling and reskilling the labor force as well as the role that education plays in providing people with the abilities required to use technology in an efficient manner.
“It’s evident from examining our national AI policy that skills account for 70% of the policy’s content. We understood that without the necessary abilities, we would never be able to support the industry and the changes that go along with it, so that was something we deliberately did, the spokesperson stated.
“We recognize that the possible disruption posed by duties that are either automated or enhanced calls for us to reevaluate everything, including the curriculum and educational system. We are reconsidering a few of these so that you know ahead of time which responsibilities won’t apply to your current job profile after graduation.
When speaking about the coexistence of technology and people, Ingabire stated that, “for the time being at least, it’s not about replacing human beings with automation entirely.” Instead, it focuses on how technology is created and how it intersects with various use cases.
She raised the topic of whether technology could coexist peacefully with people, emphasizing the value of human characteristics like empathy in the creation of solutions that truly matter.