Story by Yvonne Mkondani
Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda says Artificial Intelligence tools provide an opportunity for industry to revolutionise.
He was speaking at the inaugural International Business, Governance, and Accounting Conference in Kariba.
The conference, running from the 26th to the 28th of July is being held under under the theme, “Advancing Cross-Industry Transformation through Artificial Intelligence (CiTai).”
It is aimed at sharing insights and experiences on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various industries, Providing a platform for stakeholders to connect and collaborate on AI related projects, and showcase innovative AI solutions that have the potential to transform industries.
Advocate Mudenda highlighted the urgent need for the world, particularly Zimbabwe to adapt to the tools and not regard them as a replacement for human intelligence.
“AI applications demonstrate how technology is revolutionising business processes and various aspects of our lives. From an economist’s world view, the economy is regarded as an ecosystem where one industry feeds into another through successive value chain nods.
“In that context, AI affords an opportunity for industry to innovate and facilitate cross-industry digital transformation. For us to harness these opportunities responsibly, we must foster collaboration across industries, leveraging AI to drive innovation, improve efficiency and address complex challenges that transcend traditional sector boundaries, contrary to the general notion that AI will induce redundancy,” he said.
“To that an extent, AI germinates from human intelligence, the cradle of its genesis. Accordingly, AI remains a key digital tool for production which complements labour and capital to propel the economy into productive efficiencies required to stir the praxis of leapfrogging development which should create an upper middle-income society by 2030 and beyond. AI applications will always require human capital for meticulous quality assurance, hence should never be construed as a substitute for human capital application,” he went on.
Advocate Mudenda also noted the importance of AI in fighting crime, citing President Mnangagwa’s recent visit to the Dubai Police Headquarters.
“His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, during his recent tour of the General Headquarters, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science of the Dubai Police, underscored the need to invest in technology and innovation in order to transform the police operating systems.
“Accordingly, by integrating AI across various sectors, we canstrengthen state institutions, enhance efficiency, drive innovation and foster sustainable growth and development in line with the President’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind,” he noted.
