People Who Dont Use Ai Will Be Replaced With People Who Do

ZainVerjee, an executive fellow at the Digital Data and Design Institute at Harvard University, is co-founder of an AIand communications consultancy, andhosts the podcast series Embedded . She talks to Omar Ben Yedder about the future of AI and technology adoption in Africa, two of the key themes of this years World Economic Forum in Davos.

Youve immersed yourself in AI and crypto this last year. What have you discovered? What has surprised you, in a positive and also worrying way?

I have tried to make learning a theme this year. I have tried to immerse myself in actually participating in the use of AI technology and tools and participating in crypto. I try to learn at least one percent of something a day. And I give myself small wins and permission to get the basics and then build from there.

I dont need to be a total expert in everything but if I can cross a threshold of 30 percent, then Im in good shape. I also think as a woman, we tend to be intimidated in general with technology if that is not our discipline. And Im trying to break down those barriers because if I can understand it and absorb and immerse myself in new technologies, then all other women can too.

Ive learned that AI is here to stay and that people who dont use AI will be replaced with people who do. Its that simple. And in my field, communications, I do think that it has been disrupted as a very first sector and it continues to be disruptedin writing, in creativity, in content, in production, editing, creativity, filmmaking, producing, all of this is being disrupted very fast. And the playing field has been levelled.