Day 1 of #GovTech2019 saw delegates
tackling difficult conversations - with robots and one another
The 13th edition of #GovTech2019 the annual Government Technology
Conference was held recently in Durban, South Africa at the ICC. It kicked off
with a plenary session on Monday 28 October 2019 that paved the way for three
days of brainstorming, identifying challenges and presenting ideas that will
ultimately afford every South African citizen access to the digital space.
State Information Technology Agency (SITA) acting CEO, Ntutule
Tshenye; Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya; managing director of
Microsoft South Africa, Lilian Barnard; chairman of SITA, Zukhile Nomvete and
Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella
Ndabeni-Abrahams gave an overview of developments on the road to 4IR from their
unique perspective.
Fittingly for the forum, special guest Sophia the robot was the final
attraction and interacted with Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams on the stage. SITA
acting CEO, Ntutule Tshenye shared some of SITA’s considerations associated
with digital transformation.
He explained that transformation is a process that needs to first be
embedded before it can be scaled up. He said SITA has embarked on
infrastructure transformation and plans to accelerate the process in
collaboration with the private sector.
SITA is also looking at ways in which data can be used to help engage
with citizens to develop a good citizen experience, and how SITA can provide a
cloud brokerage service to ensure secure digital interconnection. The Agency’s
goal is to operate as a business model to drive digital government platforms in
order to reach out to ordinary South Africans.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya said 4IR would lay
the foundation for sustainable global competitiveness and would enable service
delivery leading to poverty alleviation.
“We are in a digital revolution in which the world changes every day,”
said Siweya. “We have crops that send messages to farmers, robots that serve
diners, cars that drive themselves, and 3-D printed houses. Managing director
of Microsoft South Africa, Lilian Barnard believes technology and innovation
have the potential to address the challenges of poverty and unemployment to
bring about economic change. Barnard said the limitless power of the cloud will
also allow for infinite computer and storage power, which can be used to
provide good quality education that will equalise society. AI also has a role
to play in education, with the “personalisation of learning” to ensure that
every child has equal access to education at his or her pace.
SITA board chairman, Zukile Nomvete said a technological revolution is
needed in the country to “connect, collaborate and deliver.”
He said the heart of SITA’s mandate was to create a digital society by
engaging with industry platforms like GovTech to transform the national psyche
to embrace digital culture, bring social relief and roll out software
engineering skills to communities.
Skills development aimed at empowering the SMME sector should include
youth and women and must provide easy access to funding and payment to deliver
meaningful contracts with discernible economic value and eliminate corruption
in supply chain management. SITA has made a commitment to march side by side
with government, civil society and academics to unleash the potential offered
by 4IR. Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services,
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said collaborative efforts across the private and
public sectors was necessary to maximise digital impact. She stressed the
importance of training government employees and the public who will require a
new set of skills to respond to advancing technology.
In praise of GovTech, the Minister said the platform served to focus
on what matters on the road to 4IR, with special emphasis on the benefits of
disruptive
technologies.
One of the highlights of the plenary was the appearance of
Sophia the AI robot, who described herself as “an innovation champion for the
United Nations”.
In her brief interaction with Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams,
Sophia allayed a common fear when she said: “Robotic intelligence does not
compete with human intelligence, it completes it.”
She added that technology from 4IR would benefit the
world’s citizens and would make global economics more connected and inclusive.
“AI and the internet are fusing into one which has the power
to transform major industries in the world and change the way we live and
work,” said Sophia.
Delegates spent the rest of the day in various track
session, discussing a wide range of topics, including the workforce of the
future, the digital economy and the opportunities that technology may provide
for marginalised communities.
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| The future of law enforcement | Image: Fred Felton |
Other
key highlights included a police car with camera’s on it that can be used for
surveillance and can also be used to eliminate police taking bribes. It has
been tested in the Western Cape and eThekwini Municipality expressed keen
interest in it. The software and camera’s in the car work with Microsoft cloud
software in a unique partnership.
On
the third day interesting insight was given in the Digital Economy track where
Alfredo Terzoli reminded us ‘That whatever we develop the community should be
involved with.’ A key takeaway for those that attended the conference.
This
edition by Fred Felton | Twitter @fredfelton
