Page 18 - Service Delivery Review_Volume 14_Number 3_2022

Public Service Digital Skilling

detail and context is provided, these are respectively associ- tial Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the
ated with the social and economic impact of steam power, eight recommendations it made as a basis of South Africa’s
electrical power, and computer power. The introduction then 4IR strategy under Government leadership:
proceeds to divide the contemporary period into four parts,
covering the relationships between the 4IR and industry, ■ Invest in human capital development
data, business and society. ■ Establish an Artificial Intelligence Institute

■ Establish a platform for advanced manufacturing
A key take-away from the introductory parts of the book and new materials
is the concept of “automation”, which is commonly under-
stood as the process of replacing repetitive human tasks ■ Secure and avail of data to enable innovation
with machines, for example, the replacement of bank tell- ■ Provide incentives for future industries, platforms
ers with automatic teller machines, ATMs. This innovation is and applications of 4IR technologies
often thought of in terms of customer convenience, produc- ■ Build 4IR infrastructure
tivity and the reduction of red-tape. However, ATMs could ■ Review and amend (or create) policy and legislation
potentially do more than handing out or declining cash if ■ Establish a 4IR Strategy Implementation
they were imbued with AI. With AI capabilities they could, Coordination Council in the Presidency.
for example, based on an analysis of one’s habits, or what
is described as “augmented reality” elsewhere in the book, Also notable on the African continent is the lead taken in
decide on whether to issue cash or not should it sense that 2018 by the Kenyan Government in establishing a Block-
one is not in the “right mind” to be withdrawing too much chain and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce. A year later, the
money at 3 am. taskforce recommended the use of blockchain technolo-
gies in aid of typical government service delivery. Moreo-
“Data” is another concept closely linked to automation, AI ver, Professor Marwala teases out the legislative minefields
and 4IR. Here, all these technologies aggregate” he notes arising from 4IR technologies and business platforms that
in the book. “The biggest driver of the 4IR is data, often re- African governments are yet to contend with, from cyber-
ferred to as ‘the new oil’ [and] whoever controls the data security to data privacy to “jobless growth”. What might be
controls the destiny of people … countries that gather more an added incentive to tax collectors, the book suggests, is
data – such as China and the US – will dominate the eco- the need to review archaic laws that make it possible for
nomic, political and social worlds,” writes Professor Marwala. “platform companies” such as Uber and Airbnb to escape
the tax net.
As is the case with the general lack of beneficiation of its
bountiful natural resources, Africa lacks the systems and Closing the Gap is written in an accessible and non-tech-
capabilities that would ensure collection and ownership of nical style as well as living up to its Afrocentric approach
this “new oil”, Closing the Gap notes. Not only does this open to the subject matter through references to histories and
up the continent to the kind of vulnerabilities that are similar case studies from across the African continent. In it, how-
to those associated with mineral resources, but it is also a ever, Professor Marwala manages to retain the level of detail
disability that impedes efficiencies and potential innovation. necessary for nurturing a sufficiently deep understanding of
Closing the Gap has the ambitious task of mapping out the this important subject matter. ■
relationship between AI and the 4IR across the various sec-
tors of society. The facilitative role of governments in en- By Dudley Moloi
suring that the 4IR gap is indeed closed runs through the
book’s narrative. A large section is devoted to the Presiden-

18 Volume 14 No.3 of 2022 | SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW