PwC says artificial intelligence‘ll drive global GDP to $15.7tr by 2030

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) report titled: AI Impact Index has stated that the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives in businesses in Nigeria and other parts of the world will contribute around $15.7 trillion to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
According to the report, the global GDP will be 14 per cent higher by 2030, as a result of productivity driven by AI initiatives used by organisations around the world – more than the current output of China and India combined.
The report draws on input from sector experts and partners at Fraunhofer, a global leader in emerging technology research and development (R&D).
This growth rate, according to PwC, makes AI the biggest commercial opportunity in today’s fast changing economy. All regions of the global economy will experience benefits from AI, including North America, China, Europe and developed Asia. However, developing countries will experience more modest increases (less than six per cent of GDP) due to the much lower rates of adoption of AI technologies expected (including Latin America, and Africa).
Intelligent Automation Lead for PwC South Africa, Alistair Hofert, said: “The report highlights how AI can enhance and augment what enterprises can do, the value potential of which is as large, if not larger, than automation. It shows just how a big game changer AI is likely to be and the impact it will have on our lives as organisations, individuals and society as a whole. AI is set to be the key source of transformation, disruption and competitive advantage in today’s fast-changing economy. No industry or business is immune from the impact of AI.”
Overall, the report further reveals the biggest absolute sector gains will be in retail, financial services, and healthcare as AI increases productivity, product value and consumption.
Providing a local perspective, solutions architect at software solutions company Entelect, Rishal Hurbans, said in South Africa certain industries such as the banking and retail industries are experimenting with AI, with mixed success.
“South African organisations have yet to fully embrace AI, they’re using chatbots to quickly and efficiently respond to customers but chatbots are flawed because they don’t understand sarcasm or depth of sentiment and can only respond to limited questions. We’re still in the experimental stages and organisations should resist the temptation to implement AI for the sake of following a buzzword or craze because this could result in wasted time and investment. It’s important to have a use case and execution strategy within the business before investing time and resources,” he said.
One reason narrow AI is becoming more prominent within local businesses, Hurbans said is that computing power and data have made it feasible to experiment with AI – with the goal of making money, saving money and uncovering business opportunity.