Lorries have replaced horse-drawn carriages as the conventional and convenient means of transport. Medical innovations have helped cure terrible plagues, agricultural automation and modernisation have also helped avert famine of catastrophic proportion. At the heart of these commendable transformations is the Homo Sapiens. Sapiens, aided by technology, to a large extent have survived all forms of environmental challenges, albeit occasional casualties. Technology has been the means of surviving one’s environment.

In recent times, the reliance on technology has surged drastically. New technologies have enabled greater human connectedness, propelled global economic growth, reduce inequality, and also led to a reduction in global poverty. Robots have increased efficiency at the factory floor, artificial intelligence and big data are revolutionising several fields, including healthcare, energy supply, transportation, national security, and telecommunication, as well as education. As a result, technology has overtaken human in all spheres of life.

To illustrate how fast technology is displacing human, I cite the recent astonishing achievement of DeepMind under the project called AlphaZero. Circa 2017, Google’s artificial intelligence subsidiary, DeepMind, released a machine-learning programme called the AlphaZero. The programme, despite limited knowledge of chess game, was able to defeat the best computer chess programme at that time called Stockfish-8 within four hours. Only chess instructions were built into AlphaZero. AlphaZero’s grit and mastery of chess came only through self-play and demonstrated the superior capacity of artificial intelligence. AlphaZero is built on two critical parts; a neural network and a Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithm.

The gleeful exploits of AlphaZero further demonstrated the remarkable strides made in biochemical engineering and information technology over the few decades. It also indicates the kind of future awaits humans in the era of dataism. It thus appears that whereas technology is perpetually getting upgraded and better, humans have remained static. Despite the noticeable imbalance, technology still keeps pacing at a faster rate.

The quaquaversal improvements in technology possess a challenge to existing jobs. Already, many jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector, have given way to technology. The problem is particularly manifest in emerging and developing countries where human still dominates the labour supply market. Also, developing countries still have an enormous chunk of their citizens having little or no form of modern education. With improvements in technology, many more low-skilled jobs will cease to exist. At some point, rather than technology becoming an enabler for human, it could become replacer of human. Moreover, technology will continue to be the most preferred because it is efficient and less costly than human.

It is undeniable that technology will also lead to the creation of some jobs. However, these new jobs would require high-end skilled sets meaning those unemployed and unskilled will continue to wallow in the quagmire of uncertainty and alienation. Already many human-centred jobs in developing countries are being extinguished as businesses become more intense in their use of digital technologies. At the same time, the number of new jobs created are disproportional to the number of skilled persons churned out every year.

For example, the working-age population in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase to 600 million by 2030 from 370 million in 2010, and that will present a double-edge squeeze problem for the continent. Firstly, a large part of the continent’s population by 2030 would still have low-end skills, which straight away throws them out of the digitalised job market. Secondly, by that same period, the share of Sub-Sahara African’s with a high-quality education is also expected to increase. As a result, circa 15-20 million well-educated young people will join the workforce every year. This development, according to the World Economic Forum in its report; “The future of jobs and skills in Africa,” will present a multifaceted challenge to Africa as the number of quality jobs to match these skilled-sets may not be there by 2030.

It thus appears that the demographic dividend anticipated from Africa’s young population may, after all, not be achieved if deliberate and concrete steps are not taking now. Such considered action(s) would enable the continent to take advantage of its demographic dynamism and leverage on it for a better economic outcome.

It is increasingly becoming evident that a new class; moniker, “useless class” may be emerging on the back of advances in technology as many gets pushed out of employment forever. Even though new jobs will be created, those to be destroyed are significant. Many of the new jobs require skills that many in Africa may not have. Even those lucky enough to find jobs may not be immune from future displacements because of the perpetual upgrade in machine learning, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

Given these anticipated unpleasant concerns, what can African governments do to soothing the possible impact of advances in technology on jobs and also ensure many new jobs get created while embracing technology and innovation? It is essential to stresses that the undesirable spillover of technology is not possible to eliminate entirely.

Education- Creating a “disruptive” education system which encourages and churns out thinkers and solution-oriented individuals should be the nerve center of Africa’s education system. It requires that the current education system, which stifles innovation and creativity, be jettisoned for future-ready curricula. That new system must encourage critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence as well as accelerate the acquisition of digital and STEM skills. It must match the way people will work and collaborate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this regards, the African Union’s campaign dubbed:1 Million by 2021, where the emphasis on youth empowerment is placed on the 4Es- education, entrepreneurship, Employment, and Engagement is a step in the right direction to creating sustainable jobs.

Also, at the heart of any attempt aimed to make education relevant to the needs of society must be the teacher. Adequate investment in teacher education, provision of modern teaching aids, as well as other amenities, are some of the areas African governments must pay particular attention to if the continent is to succeed in churning out well-prepared students for the fast-changing digitalised job market.

Equally important intervention with a long term benefit is the provision of free education. Sub-Saharan Africa is among those with grave income inequality in the world. As a result, many lower-ebbed families have had to struggle in providing better quality education for their wards. In many instances, talented children who but for lack of school fees would have become assets to the society ends up becoming a liability. Embarking on a policy that allows a colossal number of Africans access to quality education through to the senior secondary level is a sure path to solving the systemic societal inequality of the continent and also position it to push for technology and innovation catch-up with the rest of the world.           

Introduce universal basic income/service (UBI/S)- Another proposal gaining traction is the concept of universal basic income (UBI). This concept, just like the universal basic service (UBS), primarily seeks to protect humans rather than jobs. It is one of the ways that humans will be insulated from the shackles of unprecedented technological penetration and its attendant economic disruptions that humans are likely to face shortly.

The UBI requires Governments to impose a tax on businesses operating in the algorithm and robotic space as well as on those who have made billions from the technology space. The tax revenue should then be made available to every member of the society by way of stipend. The stipend must be significant enough to cover the basic needs of individuals. UBI is expected to lessen the impact of job loss and economic dislocation among the poor whiles protecting the rich from the rage of the less privileged.   

An alternative approach is the universal basic service (UBS). Here, the concept requires that government subsidies essential services for all citizens. Rather than paying a stipend to individuals, the UBS expects that the government subside or make education free, healthcare free, electricity-free, transportation free, and so forth. These two concepts are derived from capitalism and communism, and they both have pros and cons. Depending on the economic situation of the country, one of the two approaches may be optimal than the other, but they both yields almost the same result.

Make humans relevant in an era of unprecedented technological innovation- We still have a chance to make sapiens relevant in the age of this fast-moving technological world. Fortunately, technology is the creation of man, though, upon their creation, technology often can multiply and learn with or without human help. Creators of technological devices can mirror their inventions in the spectrum where not only tech-savvy guys automatically fit into the new world of digitalised employment created by their innovations. Also, those with limited capacity and greater willingness to convert from whatever work track they were into new tech aided work should be supported to switch. The only caveat here is that there is a price that tech-intensive businesses will pay. They will shed off a proportion of potential growth if the technology, which is a critical input for production growth, is deliberately stifled. It may not be optimal in terms of production efficiency, but it solves the problem of unemployment partially.

In concluding, need I mention that despite the best efforts of African governments to ensure everyone desirous of work gets work, the evidence shows that may not be possible? Many of the new jobs to be created in this digitalised era require a higher skill-sets that takes time and resources to build. Given the time and resources constraints of developing countries, it is clear that the world and in particular, Africa will soon see a surge in the so-called “Useless Society” as more people without the right skills will struggle to get employment.

It worth emphasising that many citizens of developing nations are becoming technologically savvy. At the same time, many are also diverging away. Even for those with the right digital skills, the level of sophistication and speed of change in technological innovation means frequent knowledge update is the only sure way for them to remain relevant in the job market. Maybe, many of us are already in the queue to become full members of the so-called “Useless Class,” and we are a few years away from it.    

Article by Henry Kyeremeh | Co-founder iWatch Africa | Email:    kyeremeh@gmail.com  

The post Henry Kyeremeh writes: When is technology taking over my job? appeared first on iWatch Africa.

The threat posed by the 21^st century cybercriminal in earning money illegally and transferring it across borders with a simple mouse click, was realised when a syndicate of 26 accused persons launched one of the most ambitious cybercrime schemes ever witnessed on the continent.

According to charges filed by the state at the Accra Circuit Court, the 26 accused persons, mainly made up of Ghanaian and Nigerian nationals, plotted to attack some major banks in Ghana in July.

“The attack began on the midnight of Sunday, July 22^nd, 2018, when the plotters hacked into the banking software of Universal Merchant Bank Limited (UMB) in Ghana.”

“The accused persons succeeded in debiting UMB’s income surplus account with GHC 326, 120,000 ($70m) and posted credit to eighteen bank accounts specifically opened for the purpose of facilitating the attack,” according to the charges filed.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mawunyo Nanegbe revealed that, between midnight of July 22, 2018 when the attack commenced and the morning of July 23, 2018, a total of GHC1.9 million ($400,000) had been withdrawn from the 18 bank accounts standing in the names of the accused persons.

UMB in a statement after the attack insisted that the bank is “resilient and very committed to working with the security forces to clean the environment of any form of cyber miscreants.”

A representative for the bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this report.

Meanwhile, all 12 arrested individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them. The case is still at the pre-trial stage with the main trial expected to begin in 2019.

Digital Technologies and IFFs

Automation, a core enabler of the illegal digital economy, played a significant role in the attack as withdrawals of the stolen monies were made from some Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in Ghana, the United Arab Emirates and the United States using internationally accepted credit cards, according to people familiar with the case.

In an effort to conceal the illegal profit from the source, the suspects are believed to have also split part of the monies into small amounts below the reporting threshold and transferred to over twenty different beneficiaries via mobile money transfers. This process is often described by experts as layering and integration.

In 2016, a World Bank report found that cyberspace, with its anonymity, cross-border nature, and remoteness from the crime scene, constitutes a perfect environment, especially when criminals can operate from countries that do not have proper legal frameworks and technical capabilities for digital investigations.

The anonymity cyberspace provides in gaining and transfer of illicit funds is particularly relevant in the case of the UMB cyber-attack, as 14 out of the 26 accused persons still remain at large.

Criminal Underground Economy and Cost to the State

The rise of a criminal underground economy in Ghana, which specializes in committing crimes involving digital technology and illicit profit transfers, cost the state over a $100m, as contained in the 2017 BoG report titled State of Banking Sector Fraud.

The major line of attack for these cyber criminals is the “use of malwares,” First Deputy-Governor of BoG, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari disclosed. Citing a recent African Union report, Dr. Opoku-Afari said that more than 400,000 malware incidents, 44 million spam incidents and 280,000 bots incidents were recorded in Ghana’s financial industry in 2016, making the country one of the top 10 most-attacked countries in Africa.

A malware is generally a software intentionally designed to cause damage to a computer, server or computer network. Cyber security and policy expert, Henry Kyeremeh, who works with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoF) believes that malware, which usually comes in the form of viruses, trojans, key loggers and exploits kits offers cybercriminals the flexibility to “steal and control data, to manage malicious programs, and to run networks of interconnected computers infected with malware.”

The underground industry of cybercrime costs global economies as much as US$445 billion in 2016 up around 30 percent from just three years earlier, a global economic study found.  For the government, banks and payment companies in Ghana, the fight should feel like a war — and they are expected to respond with an increasingly robust approach.

Legal and Policy Framework

The July cyber-attack on UMB however exposed the ease with which digital technologies can fuel illicit financial flows. It also exposed the laxity of the financial actors in Ghana and the government in dealing with the threat.

The attack prompted the BoG to issue a directive in October 2018 requiring all banks to appoint a Cyber and Information Security Officer. A compliance review a month later revealed that out of the over thirty banks operating in the country, only a third had adhered to the new BoG directive demonstrating the general lethargic approach in addressing the evolving cyber threat.

Mrs. Mansa Nettey, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana speaking at a Cyber Security Forum for the financial sector in late October, 2018 maintained that, “organizations must be willing to invest heavily in resources to combat cybercrime.”

According to the Standard Chartered CEO, financial institutions, “could reduce cyber risks by putting in place appropriate corporate governance and compliance procedures” and institute an “ongoing and open channel of communication with regulators,” on how to approach cyber threats.

Meanwhile, Henry Kyeremeh, the policy expert with MoF, has called for a revision of Ghana’s National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP), describing it as an “over concentration of efforts on protecting big companies and government agencies,” leading to a “total abandonment” of equally important players such as “citizens and SMEs.”

Four years after the NCSP action plan was developed, the government has failed to deliver on some key outputs, including setting up a Cyber Law Review Committee with the mandate of reviewing current laws on the cyber environment and making recommendations for the amendment of national laws.

Mr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the National Cyber-security Advisor to the government and founder of E-Crime Bureau, is of the view that despite passage of some laws including the Electronic Transactions Act (2008) and Anti-Money Laundering legislation, “these legislations are not themselves cyber-crime legislation.” Nigeria, he argued, has a Cyber-Security Bill (2015), whereas Ghana’s Evidence Act was passed in 1975 – long before personal computers.

Mr. Antwi-Bosiako maintains that, “Ghana needs to scale up our efforts to address the gaps in our national cyberspace legislation.” The big issue is that the legislation needs to be reviewed to be in line with contemporary trends, where e-evidence “becomes part of criminal proceedings,” — where we can use electronic evidence “to convict people for murder, narcotics, human trafficking, fraud, tax evasion, and terrorism.”

“Ghana needs to invest in technology and policies in cyber-security as the human factor remains the weakest link in cyber-crime cases.” By incorporating these recommendations into Ghana’s policy, we would, Antwi-Boasiako believes, be able to make a “serious case” in fighting cyber-crime and illicit financial flows.

This story was produced by iWatch Africa. It was written as part of Wealth of Nations, a media skills development programme run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. More information at www.wealth-of-nations.org. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.

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