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In perspective , the fifth largest economy by gross domestic product , GDP in 2023 was about $ 3.7 trillion . When combined with automation technology , gen AI can help clients improve interactions with customers and partners , as well as boost operational efficiency and productivity . regulatory factors , workforce readiness , infrastructure , skills gap , ethics and governance .
To overcome these challenges , organisations must move to an AI-first approach , where AI is integrated into their business strategy across the lifecycle . Being AI-first enables businesses to be value-creators rather than solely value users . Companies that will lead their respective industries for the next decade or two will be the ones that decide to be AI-first .
Saad Toma , General Manager , IBM Africa and Middle East
This is not just a global phenomenon ; half of the African CEOs surveyed in our IBM report expect to realise significant value from advanced AI and analytics . However , adopting AI is not without its obstacles . Many businesses on the continent and beyond are grappling with a multitude of challenges .
Globally , 82 % of IT professionals say IT complexity is impeding success in deploying AI , while 55 % of business providers lack key information regarding their technology spending decisions . In Africa , many organisations face barriers such as costs , market and
That is why IBM launched watsonx in 2023 to develop trusted AI and drive innovation for organisations in every sector or industry . Building an open-source AI community is a core part of IBM ’ s AI strategy . At the recent THINK conference , IBM further enhanced watsonx ’ s data and automation capabilities to make it more open , cost-effective , and flexible for businesses .
IBM achieved this by releasing a family of IBM Granite code models to the open-source community . IBM launched InstructLab with Red Hat , to enhance large language models and open the doors for those with minimal machine learning experience to contribute . IBM also announced IBM Concert that uses AI-powered automation to help businesses to discover gaps , prioritise insights , reduce
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