AI's Impact on Digital Service Jobs in the Southern Regions Worldwide

AI's Impact on Digital Service Jobs in the Southern Regions Worldwide

In a thought-provoking discussion held at the Center for Data Innovation on June 21, 2023, experts gathered to address the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital service jobs in the Global South. The panel, moderated by Gillian Diebold, Policy Analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, featured Mohamed Abdel-Kader, USAID's Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director for the Innovation, Technology, And Research (ITR) Hub, Kay McGowan, Senior Director, Research, Policy and Advocacy at Digital Impact Alliance, and Jonathan Murray, President and CTO of Digital Prism Advisors.

The discussion highlighted the increased opportunities in the digital services market due to the Internet, but also the potential risks associated with AI adoption by multinationals. Some view this transition as a means to drive productivity and meet data annotation, engineering, and metaverse development demands, while others see it as a risk for lesser-developed countries to be left behind in the global economy.

The panelists emphasised the need for leaders in the Global South to adopt **inclusive, participatory, and skill-focused policies** to address AI's impact on digital services jobs and ensure sustainable digital development for income growth.

Key recommendations included bridging the digital literacy divide by investing in widespread AI literacy and digital skills training programs. This would equip the workforce for AI-fluent jobs, reducing the risk of unemployment and inequality.

Community engagement and participatory governance were also highlighted as crucial. For example, Rwanda's policy mandates community consultations and AI literacy as conditions for government automation projects, ensuring AI implementations are socially attuned and respectful of human dignity.

Governance with transparency and human oversight was another important aspect, with policies ensuring AI systems used in public services or employment assessments maintain explainability, allow human-in-the-loop decision-making, and have public transparency and audit mechanisms. This prevents AI from becoming a tool of exclusion or silent job elimination.

The panel also stressed the importance of fostering adaptable, tech-ready skills over formal degrees. AI adoption is lowering barriers for formal credentials but increasing demand for adaptable skills. Policies should promote lifelong learning, technical adaptability, and strategic human skills such as creativity and judgment critical for AI-enhanced jobs.

Collaboration across governments, businesses, and international organisations was also deemed essential for workforce transformation. Successful examples from Asia show the benefits of coordinated skill upgrading and job acceleration programs tailored to local contexts.

Lastly, the panel encouraged promoting new economic activities enabled by AI. Rather than fearing job losses, policies should encourage the use of AI to pioneer new forms of economic activity and increase overall job growth, as AI can create more opportunities when deployed to augment human labor rather than replace it.

In conclusion, the recommended policies for Global South leaders revolve around building digital and AI literacy, ensuring transparent and humane AI governance, fostering adaptable workforce skills, and enabling collaborative multi-sector approaches to leverage AI for inclusive and sustainable income growth in digital economies.

1. Mohamed Abdel-Kader, Kay McGowan, and Jonathan Murray, panelists at the Center for Data Innovation's discussion on June 21, 2023, stressed the need for inclusive, participatory, and skill-focused policies to address AI's impact on digital services jobs in the Global South.
2. The panelists agreed that bridging the digital literacy divide through AI literacy and digital skills training programs is crucial to equip the workforce for AI-fluent jobs, reducing the risk of unemployment and inequality.
3. Community engagement and participatory governance were highlighted as vital, with Rwanda's policy being an example, mandating community consultations and AI literacy as conditions for government automation projects.
4. Governance with transparency and human oversight was another important aspect, with policies ensuring AI systems used in public services or employment assessments maintain explainability, allow for human-in-the-loop decision-making, and have public transparency and audit mechanisms.
5. The panelists also emphasized the importance of fostering adaptable, tech-ready skills over formal degrees, promoting lifelong learning, technical adaptability, and strategic human skills such as creativity and judgment, critical for AI-enhanced jobs.
6. Lastly, the panel encouraged promoting new economic activities enabled by AI, advocating for policies that encourage the use of AI to pioneer new forms of economic activity and increase overall job growth, as AI can create more opportunities when deployed to augment human labor rather than replace it.

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