Glenn du Toit, Country Manager, Acer

AI is a transformative technology shaping the present and future. Despite fears of mass unemployment, its adoption promises a wealth of new opportunities and skillsets. It necessitates advanced, smarter devices for enhanced compatibility and cybersecurity. In South Africa, addressing income and social gaps will be crucial for businesses integrating AI into their strategic planning.

Glenn du Toit, Acer’s country manager, says the physical look and feel of devices of the future are not going to be too dissimilar to what we have today, but upgrading the internal specifications and operations to utilise a better-quality functionality is the way forward to get the best out of ‘good’ AI and address the ‘bad’ AI used by threat actors. And his message is clear. Start upgrading for new technologies to prevent exposure from the bad.

“AI is beyond a technology. It’s a concept with practical, real-life application,” says Du Toit, “from carrying out mundane tasks to its complex application in cybersecurity, analytics and business intelligence. “Technology exists to make humans more efficient and AI’s importance in our day-to-day lives cannot be ignored. AI for everyday users requires human engagement. It’s not a being that functions without human intellect. With the everyday user, we require a different kind of AI; that is AI in the context of Augmented Intelligence. This is a world where we have a populous that operates between Artificial Intelligence and Human or Authentic Intelligence. Together, these two elements create Augmented Intelligence or AI3 as it is being called.

“AI is a technology that learns and grows and a tool that humans can use to become more productive and efficient – this world requires Augmented AI skills. There is not a single sector that will be unaffected and will not benefit from AI3 – from education, financial services, healthcare, infrastructure management and manufacturing, to smart homes and buildings.”

Du Toit says organisations need to have a proper plan and policies in place – not just an IT plan, but one that includes HR and the business, stressing the importance of not separating the digital from the human side. When it comes to AI security vulnerabilities, he adds that finance needs to be involved in the upgrading all Edge devices as organisations can be vulnerable from such taken for granted devices as network printers.

“Aside from the proactive cybersecurity AI offers, those not already exploring or in the process of upgrading devices will be overtaken by competitors and their workforces left behind. Constant change is the nature of where we are going. PCs are shifting from process devices to time machines and I can foresee a future where there is a four-day work week because we can do more through AI adoption in four days than we have been accustomed to in a five day week.”

Acer is constantly adding capability to its devices and its AI devices are coming this year. This capability, Du Toit says, requires stable connectivity, advanced processing power and longer battery life; all of these combine to bring AI into the hands of users, adding to the cost savings that technology-driven efficiencies invariably bring to a business.

“When we start pulling everything together with AI cybersecurity and AI PC devices, and with AI on the cusp of consumerisation of AI, individuals need to educate themselves and prepare for an efficiency-driven AI revolution,” he concludes.

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