Tag: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Did you know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) helped South Africa win the 2023 Rugby World Cup? Did you know that Africa led the way in small language models? Lastly, did you also know that AI has supported farmers in Kenya for the last decade?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming the engine room of South Africa’s economic future. Across sectors, from banking and insurance to healthcare and retail, AI systems are transforming how decisions are made and how services are delivered. They are also changing how organisations compete.

In a world marked by heightened economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and shifting regulatory landscapes, the demand for integrity and transparency in business has never been greater. As professionals charged with stewardship over financial information, governance frameworks and assurance practices, chartered accountants are not merely working with numbers.

Since the South African Revenue Service (SARS) introduced the Crypto Revenue Augmentation Unit, many taxpayers who have traded, invested in or used crypto assets for purchases have received Audit and Request for Relevant Material Notices.

With cyber threats rising and compliance standards tightening, organisations face growing pressure to revisit their data protection strategies. The era of treating backups as a box-ticking exercise is over. Backups only matter if you can recover fast and reliably. Resilience today must include both backup and recovery. Whether you are a bank, retailer or healthcare provider, you must assume that one day your systems will fail.

Look around you. Is anything real or normal anymore? News, images and videos created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are everywhere. The world we live in is changing daily. It is no exaggeration to say that everything you thought you knew is undergoing apocalyptic levels of change. Our new normal now includes AI CEOs and AI partners.

Earlier this year, the South African government launched its National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Framework. This is a strategic initiative aimed at harnessing AI for public value and socio-economic advancement. The policy positions AI as a tool to enhance decision-making, improve public services and foster innovation across sectors. However, a recent survey we conducted with Oxford Economics, involving nearly 500 senior government executives across 14 countries, reveals a significant obstacle.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills revolution is no longer a future concept or speculative technology. Generative AI is here now. It is rapidly reshaping industries and rewriting the rules of competitiveness. In South Africa, generative AI holds immense potential. It can drive inclusive economic growth, boost productivity and spark entrepreneurial innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly transforming legal workflows. They now accelerate research, streamline contract analysis and enhance eDiscovery. But while these tools offer impressive speed and pattern recognition, they still cannot replace the strategic judgement, foresight and nuance that define quality legal practice.

Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) take our jobs in the future? No. But people who know how to use AI effectively just might. The World Economic Forum predicts this shift, which is why our education system must embrace the opportunities AI offers. We must stop treating new technologies as threats or sources of fear.