Artificial Intelligence: Preparing Sri Lanka for the future
View(s):Microsoft and IDC last week announced the results of a survey where more than 1,600 business leaders and over 1,580 workers across 15 markets in Asia Pacific were asked about the impact of artificial intelligence(AI) on society, business and the economy.
Some 1,605 business leaders and 1,585 workers participated in this study which involved15 Asia Pacific markets – Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
In a media release, Microsoft said for the organisations that have implemented AI initiatives, the top five business drivers to adopt the technology were (in priority order): Better customer engagement (26 per cent of respondents named it as the number one driver); higher competitiveness (19 per cent); higher margins (18 per cent); accelerated innovation (15 per cent) and more productive employees (9 per cent).
Victor Lim, Vice President, Consulting Operations, IDC Asia/Pacific said: “Last year, organisations that have adopted AI saw tangible improvements in those areas in the range of 18 per cent to 26 per cent. They forecast further improvements of at least 1.8 times in the three-year horizon, with the biggest jump expected in accelerated innovation and competitiveness.”
While 80 per cent of business leaders agreed that AI is instrumental for their organization’s competitiveness, only 41 per cent of organisations in the region have embarked on their AI journeys. Those organisations that have adopted AI expect it to increase their competitiveness 100 per cent by 2021, the release said.
“Today, every company is a software company, and increasingly, every interaction is digital. To be successful in this new world, organisations need to be a fast adopter of new technologies; and secondly, they need to build their own unique digital capabilities,” said Hasitha Abeywardena, Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives at Microsoft. “Economies and businesses that have yet to embark on their AI journey run a real risk of missing out on the competitive benefits that are enjoyed by leaders.”
This is particularly relevant to Sri Lanka given the announcement last year where ‘AI Nation’ was positioned as the next big pillar for IT sector growth and where National Export Strategy (NES) Advisory Committee on ICT/ BPM expect to get around 5,000 data scientists in the next five years for Sri Lanka to be well ahead of the pack.
In Sri Lanka, the IT industry can potentially become a US$5 billion industry by 2022, creating 200,000 direct job opportunities, and enable the launch of up to 1,000 start-ups.
The study found that a majority of business leaders (62 per cent of business leaders and 66 per cent of workers) believe that AI will either help to do their existing jobs better or reduce repetitive tasks.
“When it comes to creating or replacing jobs, 18 per cent of business leaders believe that AI will produce new jobs, whereas 15 per cent feel that the technology will replace jobs. Interestingly, workers are more optimistic, with only 5 per cent expecting AI to replace jobs, while 13 per cent anticipate AI to create new ones,” said Mr. Lim from IDC.
The study also found that workers are more willing to reskill than business leaders believe they are. 20 per cent of business leaders say it may be too difficult for workers to develop new skills, whereas only 14 per cent of workers felt that it was a challenge.
“Microsoft’s vision for AI is first and foremost about people. AI technology cannot progress without them. This means that millions will need to transform themselves into skilled workers as well as learners that an AI future needs,” said Mr. Abeywardena. “It is wonderful to see that 84 per cent of businesses prioritise skilling and reskilling of workers in the future.”
“The jobs of today will not be the jobs of tomorrow, and we have already seen demand for software engineering roles expand rapidly beyond just the tech sector. However, building an AI-ready workforce does not necessarily mean an acute need for technological skills,” he said.
The top three future skills required by business leaders in Asia Pacific include quantitative and analytical skills, digital skills, as well as adaptability and a continuous learning mindset. The demand for all three is higher than the existing supply.
In the education space, Microsoft is working with the Ministry of Education to train teachers to become innovative educators. In the university and start-up space, Microsoft has given over 200,000 local students a global platform to voice their ideas through Imagine Cup. A spokesperson for a team that competed in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2019 Regional Finals said they emerged with a lot more confidence in themselves and in their project.
Last year, Microsoft introduced a global programme for start-ups in Sri Lanka. The programme helps late stage business-to-business startups accelerate their business growth through mentorship, streamlined go-to-market activities and most importantly access to world-class technology.