AI Will Lead the Upcoming Technological Revolution

AI Will Lead the Upcoming Technological Revolution
The world now is on the verge of a technological revolution that will change the face of humanity and its direction as Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the main driver of such revolution. This is an unescapable fact. It is going to be a comprehensive revolution that will involve all aspects of life-- security, the economy, social life, and others. Capacity building therefore will be of vital importance to the longevity of our economies, if we want them to thrive at a faster pace. No technological invention in the history of humanity is more important now than AI. Preparing our younger generations and directing them to this technology will definitely have a positive reflection on the global economic recovery; the effects of which are showing already in a rapid pace we have to keep up with. We cannot turn a blind eye to that fact anymore.
There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has propagated the AI revolution on a larger scale. The world could see how the global companies were able to analyze the virus’s epidemiology, crunch data, as well as manage to develop vaccines in record time using AI based technology. The rapid technological effects of the digital tools have proved that AI applications are accelerating and are intervening in countless human fields. It is difficult until now, however, to establish a framework, or conduct an objective assessment of the implications of the digital applications because they have various implications. They are also used for military and civilian purposes that vary according to the desired and intended goals.
I would like to highlight the Chinese experiment as an example of a country that made the best out of AI applications and directed the world to such applications and technologies in a creative manner. China made AI a mandatory part of its educational strategy to make the country a global leader in AI innovation by 2030. China is planting the seeds of AI education now and will be reaping the benefits in the near future. We need to be doing the same to ensure that we secure a place in the growing digital economy. According to Forbes, “AI will add $15 trillion to the world economy by 2030”. This is four times larger than the GDP of the entire MENA region in 2020, which has been $3 trillion only. We owe it to the younger generation to invest in such education, so that they have the needed digital, technological skills to help power the economic growth.
I had the privilege to speak at international AI technology events. A question I found myself constantly faced with was, “Won’t AI technology replace humans and take over their jobs?"
I have always seen a different scenario unfolding. I believe that AI will free workers to exercise better judgement and perform  better tasks that are more valuable by using AI systems, providing greater accuracy and insights and in turn delivering greater value. According to the “Future of Jobs Report 2020”, published by the World Economic Forum, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines by 2025. But 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labor between humans, machines, and algorithms, which include AI systems. Rather than jobs being lost to AI, jobs will be created by it. With volumes of big data being produced by sensors, systems, and the mass adoption of the Internet of Things (Iot), there will be no alternative but to use AI systems to make sense of this huge amount of data in order to help decision-making.
I also see AI largely affecting the auditing profession. Auditing is the foundation on which TAG.Global was established. As an auditor myself, I can tell you that the auditing profession is going to be revolutionized by AI. The huge amount of data being produced by organizational systems will make it very difficult to perform manual audits, as there will be simply too much data to analyze. AI systems will be used to perform detailed audits that would otherwise be impossible to conduct. The profession will become more of an IT specialty. In the very near future, auditors will need skills in AI; both to conduct audits as well as to evaluate AI systems used by companies to provide assurances regarding their accuracy and transparency.
I have always called for reform of the education system globally and have been saying for many years now that our education curricula need to move into the 21st century, to empower our digital natives with the knowledge and skills to become knowledge workers. AI is among the forefront of disciplines that students must be taught. AI applications and technology have become the basis of developed economies all over the world. They are the reason for existence of some of the largest companies the world has ever seen, such as Apple, Google, and Amazon. The global economy is no longer bound by geographic boundaries and the fourth industrial era means that all people may become knowledge workers if they have the zeal and passion.
Digital opportunities are available for the IT literates and we must take full advantage of this fact. We need to be producing AI literate 'knowledge workers' to meet the demands of the digital global economy. We must properly educate and foster an environment for technology innovation and creativity, empowering people with tools and laws to create an ecosystem to enable the future 'Zuckerberg' to come about. Building capacities in AI will also allow us to build systems to help find novel solutions to problems the world is facing concerning climate change, water shortage, and food production. As Plato said 'Necessity is the mother of invention'.
For our future generations and for keeping pace with the booming digital revolution, we need scientists, innovators, and thinkers to act responsibly with foresight and wisdom and invest in AI education, as it is  a fruitful investment, widespread, and is set to revolutionize the world.