Generative AI is poised to have a transformative impact on society and the workforce across several dimensions:

1. Automation and Efficiency: Generative AI can automate routine and repetitive tasks, which could lead to increased efficiency in various industries. For example, in journalism, AI can write standard reports, allowing human journalists to focus on in-depth investigative work. In design, AI can generate initial models, speeding up the creative process.
2. Job Displacement and Creation: While there is a concern that AI could displace jobs, particularly in sectors reliant on routine tasks, it also has the potential to create new types of jobs. These could include roles in AI management, oversight, and development, as well as new opportunities in industries that harness AI to offer new services or products.
3. Education and Skill Development: The rise of generative AI emphasizes the need for a workforce skilled in AI literacy, data analysis, and ethical considerations surrounding AI use. Educational systems may need to adapt to prepare individuals for these new demands, focusing more on critical thinking, creativity, and technical skills.
4. Ethical and Societal Considerations: Generative AI raises significant ethical questions, such as biases in AI outputs, the potential for misuse (e.g., deepfakes), and privacy concerns. Addressing these issues will require robust regulatory frameworks and ongoing dialogue among stakeholders to ensure that AI is used responsibly.
5. Economic Impact: AI could drive economic growth by creating new market opportunities and increasing productivity. However, it could also exacerbate economic disparities if the benefits of AI are unevenly distributed or if there is a significant divide between those who have the skills to work with AI and those who do not.
6. Cultural and Creative Fields: In creative sectors, generative AI can be both a tool and a collaborator, helping to push the boundaries of art, music, and literature. However, it also prompts discussions about the nature of creativity and originality.
7. Healthcare: In healthcare, AI can help diagnose diseases more accurately and quickly, recommend personalized treatment plans, and automate administrative tasks, potentially improving care outcomes and efficiency.

The impact of generative AI will be broad and multifaceted, requiring proactive adaptation from individuals, businesses, and governments to harness its benefits while mitigating its risks.

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With the world fast-evolving, and nations gradually becoming less oil dependent, experts have canvassed the importance of data mining for business and economic growth in Nigeria.

Data mining is a process used to extract usable data from a larger set of any raw data for information sharing, among others. Speaking in Lagos, at a financial inclusion forum organised by Eyowo Integrated Limited, the Chief Customer Architect and Data Scientist at Oracle, Dr. Olufemi Oyenuga, said data remains the world’s most valuable resource. He stressed that the same way oil was the defining resource of the 20th Century, data is now the defining resource of the 21st, adding that digital information is unlike any previous resource; it is extracted, refined, valued, bought and sold in different ways.

According to him, data changes the rules for markets, and it demands new approaches from regulators. “To ingest it all, enterprises are speedily building data refineries. The quality of data has changed, too. They are no longer mainly stocks of digital information, databases of names and other well-defined personal data, such as age, gender and income.

“The new economy is more about analysing rapid real-time flows of often unstructured data: the streams of photos and videos generated by users of social networks, the reams of information produced by commuters on their way to work, the flood of data from hundreds of sensors in a jet engine.“From subway trains and wind turbines to toilet seats and toasters — all sorts of devices are becoming sources of data. The world will bristle with connected sensors so that people will leave a digital trail wherever they go, even if they are not connected to the Internet.”

Quoting Oracle’s Paul Sonderegger, Oyenuga said: “Data will be the ultimate externality; we will generate it whatever we do.”Speaking on the value of data, he explained that IDC predicts that “the digital universe” (the data created and copied every year) will reach 180 zettabytes (180 followed by 21 zeros) in 2025.“Pumping it all through a broadband Internet connection would take over 450million years. Most important, the value of data is increasing. Researchers have only just begun to develop pricing methodologies.

He explained that data driven innovation strategy involves managing, acquiring and applying.Furthermore, Chief Executive Officer, Eyowo, Tomi Amao, reiterated the company’s vision with the purpose of solving financial inclusion problems and making daily transactions seamless for businesses in Nigeria.

He said the forum with the theme: “Driving Business growth with data,” was aimed at creating an avenue where retailers and business owners can learn how to improve business performance using modern tools and strategies.
 
“The boost to your business retail seminar is one of many steps we are taking to achieve our vision, which is to promote and drive financial inclusion throughout Africa. We believe this is very possible,” he said.Amao explained that Eyowo provides simple, modern and reliable financial services to anyone with a phone number, including consumers, retailers, businesses, and developers.

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Lowering energy consumption, looking for new sources of renewable energy and boosting energy efficiency are all integral Big Data goals to protect the environment as well as to sustain economic growth. Big volumes of data in motion are being increasingly monitored and analyzed in real time, which helps in achieving these goals. A lot of huge organizations and businesses use different measures to ascertain that they have energy resources they need today and in the future. Nontraditional energy sources, like solar farms, wind turbines and wave energy are getting to be more realistic options as prices and scarcity of fossil fuels remain to be an issue.

The same as numerous industries, Big Data science transforms the energy vertical, offering insights to cost reductions in down markets, as well as enabling oil producers to adjust to the demands in boom times. The recent oil prices decline have hit the economy of the world hard. With major fluctuations in the prices as well as the high cost of energy projects, quality information more than ever mattered more. Big Data could be used to boost energy efficiency as organizations are starting to use streaming data to increase energy efficiency. For instance, a big university monitors streaming data on its energy use and incorporates with weather data to perform real-time adjustments in energy utilization and production.

The field of energy uses data science for cutting costs, minimize risk and optimize investments. Minimizing costs with data science is a popular application in the energy industry. Optimization of investment decisions take several forms, such as assisting investors and a better internal resource. Moreover, data science contributes to the enhancement of public safety through providing better oversight and monitoring.

Big Data is valuable for numerous reasons. First and foremost, it provides the energy field with information and this is always valuable when used properly. It is being currently used to boost customer experience, for profit maximization and enhance efficiencies. Smart meters and real-time weather information systems are helpful in data gathering, decision-making and enhancing reliability. Moreover, it also allows investors to understand the impact of customer response weather, capital investment cycles, volatility of fuel price and other factors to influence investment decisions. The true value of Big Data is actually too big to fully comprehend, since more and more data becomes available, it would be those industries and businesses that are capable of harnessing information and making sense of it who would reap the benefits and stay ahead of the competition.

Members of a business community share and analyze streaming energy use data collectively. This allows organizations in the community to utilize energy more efficiently and minimize energy costs. Streaming data allows them to keep tabs of the supply and demand and make certain that changes in demand are anticipated and in balance with supply. Big Data is a great tool for the advancement of the production of alternative energy sources. The use of analytics and data science is expected to grow in the field of energy. In a low oil price scenario, management would seek cost reduction insights from data. In growth periods, data science would guide management decision making with better insights in improving production and to adjust to the market demand.

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