MTN Ghana Chief Executive Officer Stephen Blewett has stressed the need for Ghana to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its digital transformation while paying attention to the vulnerabilities associated with the technology.
Mr Blewett said AI had become part of everyday life and could no longer be ignored, but its adoption should be approached carefully, particularly with the interests of future generations in mind.
“AI cannot be ignored. This is part of our lives,” he said, adding that the country needed to consider the vulnerabilities associated with the technology as it planned for the future.
He was speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MTN Ghana and the University of Ghana, where he highlighted the importance of collaboration between industry and academia in developing digital talent.
Mr Blewett said universities had an important role to play in shaping young minds and generating ideas that could influence the future.
Drawing on his experience at university in Johannesburg, he said the diversity of young people and the different perspectives they brought to discussions demonstrated the value of academic institutions in developing new ideas.
He said departments such as Computer Science were particularly important because they could help produce the digital talent required to advance Ghana’s digital transformation.
Mr Blewett described the MoU as a partnership based on a shared commitment to growing the digital world and said he was committed to ensuring that the collaboration made a difference to the country.
He expressed the ambition for Ghana to become an epicentre of digital innovation and a centre for the next generation of technological development.
He said he had a strong passion for seeing Ghana “break out” into the next phase of great innovation and expressed hope that the partnership would contribute to that objective.
The MTN Ghana CEO explained that the collaboration between the company and the university represented an opportunity to work together towards a stronger digital future for Ghana and beyond.
He concluded by expressing his hope and prayer that the partnership would succeed and become a significant moment in the country’s pursuit of innovation.
