Bridging digital literacy gap one licence, at a time.
According to the World Economic forum (WEF), over 1 billion jobs are set to be transformed by artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the next decade. AI in simple terms is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computers. Learning spaces will have to adopt more AI driven tools to create the types of candidates needed for the future.
We are at the beginning of the AI age. Many of the old ways of working we have known up until now will change, and the pace of innovation is only increasing. This is particularly true with the arrival of generative AI, which doesn’t simply analyse large data sets but is a tool people can use to create entirely new ways of productivity.
AI will change the landscape from the classroom to the office. In the same WEF report, the following job trends are already evident in South Africa:
Adopting new technologies is a priority for many organizations
Digital adoption drives innovation and competitive advantage. Companies can streamline processes and deliver products or services more efficiently than before, freeing up valuable time and resources for more impactful activities.
These improvements can bring positive financial benefits to the bottom line. Not only that, new technologies can help organizations better understand customer preferences, personalize interactions, and deliver a superior customer experience.
Organizations are expanding digital access within their operations
By broadening digital access, organizations can extend their reach and tap into new markets. Digital technologies enable businesses to transcend geographical limitations.
Also, modern customers expect it. In today’s digital age, customers expect seamless and convenient access to products and services. Digital access can also improve operational efficiency by automating processes and enabling real-time collaboration.
Most new jobs are technology driven
In a digital economy, organizations need access to workers with both creative thinking and analytical thinking skills to help them with innovation and problem-solving. Creative thinking is essential for generating new ideas, identifying opportunities, and fostering innovation.
When combined with powerful modern tools like AI, businesses benefit from the multiplier effect. Technology-enabled roles help us perform tasks faster, more accurately, and with fewer errors compared to manual roles, resulting in higher output and cost savings for businesses.
Barriers to growth include skills gaps of digitally literate people
That said, there aren’t yet enough of these types of workers for the new economy. Firms are crying out for digitally savvy graduates, with 44% of South African firms surveyed for the WEF study calling it an acute shortage. The system cannot produce them fast enough. The job market increasingly demands digital skills across various industries.
Aggressive digital adoption in schools must ensure that students are equipped with the necessary digital competencies required for the wave of new tech-driven employment opportunities.
Graduates need to be future ready and upskilled to do things they have never done before. Changing an education model that has been in place for many decades will not be easy, but it must be done globally competitive students are to thrive in the future.
Schools and higher institutions of learning must adapt their curriculum to be AI-enabled
AI in education brings powerful benefits. It’s not simply about teaching AI-related courses, but using AI now to help education be more impactful. Some of these AI teaching methods could include introducing learning methods like one-on-one repeatable digital classes that overcome skilled teacher shortages.
AI can help analyse student data and analyse student learning patterns to improve outcomes. There are more advantages of AI in education and tools like Chat GPT in education which creates lesson plans, plans activities, and saves time.
Unleash creativity
As generative AI becomes more popular and accessible, more students will be able to use the technology for creative expression. AI doesn’t turn ordinary people into professional artists, but it gives students a visual vocabulary that they didn’t have before. There is so much excitement and hype as many more people unleash creative ideas in ways that were once only available to trained professionals.
AI helps us do our jobs better. The applications are potentially endless, limited only by our ability to imagine scenarios in which productivity-assisting software could be applied to complex cognitive work.
AI will unlock faster iteration by significantly reducing the creative and collaborative process. It will also make work more enjoyable. People now have new, interesting, and more effective tools than they’ve had before. Generative AI has the capacity to profoundly alter the working practices of a range of industries, giving birth to new professions and revolutionizing old ones.
What Adobe can do to help
Adobe is a world class software firm with a range of innovative products and has been a popular choice for designers for a long time. Like many companies around the world, Adobe has fully embraced the AI revolution and has launched the following tools:
Adobe Firefly
Generative Fill is a new suite of AI powered capabilities powered by Adobe Firefly. Adobe’s powerful generative AI technology adds metadata to its images and is trained on their own stock images protecting creators rights.
Adobe surprised everyone by revealing the new Generative Fill feature in Adobe Photoshop. Unlike other Photoshop capabilities, Generative Fill enables you to use text prompt to generate an image. This is a total gamechanger.
Adobe Document Cloud
Document, forms and workflows are becoming more digital and with AI it’s even easier to create and manage them. Adobe Sensei powers features in Document Cloud, so you can streamline all your form based processes using auto-detect features to reduce time spent on building complex forms from scratch. No longer are high end development skills required to digitize.
About Learning Curve
As the only Adobe Platinum partner in sub Saharan Africa, Learning Curve has deep experience developing solutions around Adobe technology. It has brought state of the art software to Africa for our people to compete at a global level.
Learning Curve is also the sole Education Elite Partner in sub Saharan Africa. As Adobe rolls out more AI-enabled tools, Learning Curve will be there to help empower businesses to improve their digital processes through Adobe’s world class enterprise suite of products. What’s more, Learning Curve had developed peerless support teams that could train and support lecturers in South Africa’s higher education and K-12 space as the AI revolution takes shape.
The bottom line
AI is not going away. We stand on the edge of a new period in human productivity. Schools must adapt to deliver the candidates who are equipped to use this new technology.
Technology-driven jobs require continuous learning and adaptability due to the rapid pace of technological advancements. With the help of Learning Curve, people in these fields can stay updated with the latest trends, tools, and techniques to remain competitive as the race towards an AI future plays out.
Contact us to find out more