We need to set priorities to harness the potential of AI – Dr. Opoku-Afari

Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, says that priorities must be set to fully harness artificial intelligence's (AI) potential.

He said these priorities would depend on each country's development.

Dr. Opoku-Afari was speaking at the University of Ghana Business School, University of Mauritius, and Stellenbosch University's 2nd Emerging Countries International Conference on Business, Finance, and Economics in Accra.

The conference was on the theme: "The Intersection Between AI, Productivity, and Growth in Emerging Countries."

He said a novel AI preparedness index showed that advanced and more developed emerging market economies should invest in AI innovation and integration while advancing adequate regulatory frameworks to optimise benefits from increased AI use.

The Deputy Governor said for less prepared emerging markets and developing economies, foundational infrastructural development and building a digitally skilled labour force were paramount.

He said for all economies, social safety nets and retraining for AI-susceptible workers were crucial to ensure inclusivity.

He reiterated that the intersection between AI, productivity,

and growth in emerging countries presented a unique opportunity to accelerate economic development and improve the lives of millions of people.

He said by 2030, AI was expected to contribute over $15 trillion to the global economy, and while much of this growth was predicted to occur in advanced economies, emerging countries have unique opportunities to leapfrog traditional developmental trajectories by embracing AI.

"They can only do this by reforming, putting in place appropriate policies and institutions, and developing capacity, and the curricula at the universities must change to reflect these changing times," he added.

Dr. Opoku-Afari said the AI transformative process was taking place organically, and this was a revolution that could not be stopped.

"The past decade has witnessed significant shifts in the technological space driven by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence," he said.

He said as a result, the global economy was slowly being transformed, and opportunities were being created in the process through revolutionising productivity and driving growth.

"AI is transforming the global economy, revolutionising productivity, and driving growth. Today, there is no issue of whether AI will shape our future; it already is, and AI is now more than just a buzzword; it is a catalyst for systemic transformation," he added.

The Deputy Governor said across these sectors, AI was driving innovation and reshaping industries globally, and it was transforming the finance, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, education, transportation, and energy sectors by enhancing efficiency, personalisation, and decision-making.

He said it enabled breakthroughs like early diagnostics, precision farming, autonomous systems, and smart energy grids, among interesting outcomes.

He said at the Bank of Ghana, AI had been employed to help with forecasting and generating near-term forecasts.

The Deputy Governor said that through the development of algorithms and the creation of crawlers, AI has been used to gather prices of goods and services in firms that have an internet presence.

He said the data was scraped off the website of these firms that have an internet presence and ship the data back to the office for processing.

"Our AI-generated inflation provides us with real-time inflation numbers, and this is novel, and our peers in the subregion have requested technical assistance in this area to also help support work in their jurisdictions," he said.

Dr. Opoku-Afari said that notwithstanding the benefits, there were challenges to be tackled, and a recent study by the IMF showed that AI exposure in advanced economies was 60 percent.

He said in emerging markets and low-income countries, by contrast, AI exposure was expected to be 40 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

He said from the statistics, although Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) face fewer immediate disruptions from AI, they do not have the necessary infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI.

Dr. Opoku-Afari, therefore, said that leveraging the power of AI to increase productivity and growth in EMDEs would require several measures.

These measures are tackling energy-related infrastructure gaps: Reliable electricity and internet connectivity are prerequisites for AI adoption; access to digital tools and education remains unequal, and the ethical implications of AI, such as bias, privacy, and job displacement, need to be carefully considered and addressed.