The world’s leading countries in artificial intelligence (AI) development and research, the United States and China, are facing loss of jobs to AI.
And graduates are most at peril, with some university courses expected to disappear for good in China.
One of China’s top universities in media and arts cancelled five arts courses: photography, comics, visual communication design, new media art, and fashion design last year
But, at the same time, the University introduced three new undergraduate programmes: “intelligent imaging art”, “intelligent audiovisual engineering”, and “intelligent engineering and creative design”.
China plans to use AI to generate and restructure jobs as 12.7 million graduates enter the labour market this year. The government will update existing positions and provide employment opportunities across industries, highlighting skills in sectors like the low-altitude economy, new-energy vehicles, and AI.
The goal is to create over 12 million urban jobs and keep unemployment around 5.5% from 2026 to 2030.
In the US, the labour market is declining, with unemployment among 22–27-year-olds rising to 5.8%. Companies are hiring less and automating entry-level jobs. Last month, Oracle announced up to 30 000 layoffs, amid efforts to manage cash flow while funding AI data centre expansion. In 2025, Challenger, Gray & Christmas cut 54 000 jobs due to AI, and Amazon laid off 16 000 workers in early 2026 after reducing 14 000 the previous October.
This trend reflects the broader trend across the developed world.
Major companies like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia lead AI research, developing models for various industries. AI is lucrative in healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and tech. In Namibia, AI development is rising in agriculture, health, biosciences, academia, media, and finance.
However, beyond local stakeholders, Namibia lacks a national debate on AI’s role in its public and commercial sectors, especially for a developing country like ours.
Using AI can transform key sectors like banking and education. In banking, AI tools such as predictive models, machine learning, and generative AI enhance security, personalise services, and automate tasks like fraud detection and chatbots (e.g., Bank of America’s Erica), reducing costs and catching fraud in real time. In higher education, students who use Large Language Models (LLMs) for writing and research experience lower cognitive load but demonstrate poorer reasoning and argumentation skills than those who use traditional methods.
AI has biases, and users should be cautious, as noted by The Duke Centre for Teaching and Learning, emphasising that critical thinking, evaluating information, and forming judgments are human skills AI cannot fully replicate. AI should support, not replace, human reasoning; overreliance could weaken critical thinking.
AI’s role in everyday life is growing, transforming work, study, and daily life with tools like ChatGPT, which assist with complex or specialised tasks, though this isn’t always reliable. I believe superintelligent, self-aware AI from major companies will likely outsmart humans, as reliance on AI could diminish human knowledge.
Namibia’s AI development is still in early stages, causing industry concern.
In newsrooms, AI tools such as expert systems are more readily accepted, while generative AI tools like ChatGPT are used more cautiously, often not openly.
This caution stems from the very concerns about algorithmic bias, inaccuracies, hallucinations, and the general limitations of AI. But the hidden use provides more danger than developing a guiding policy.
Expert systems like Grammarly and QuillBot are rule-based and have been trusted longer. They first appeared in the 1970s and 1980s to mimic expert decision-making while reducing complexity. Despite concerns, stakeholders recognise AI’s ability to simplify tasks.
Beyond writing aid, leaders like NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang emphasise that developing countries should invest in AI infrastructure.
Huang believes that AI’s accessibility, its ease of use, convenience, and problem-solving capability also present an opportunity to help close the digital divide.
Building our own models tailored to societal challenges reduces the risks associated with foreign models. AI has become more democratic; the main barrier is understanding, not access. Anyone can use foreign foundation AI models, with premium options for those who can pay, while others rely on free versions.
I believe the thinking enterprise remains crucial as all advancements, including AI, stem from human intellect, those who think, explore, and go beyond current knowledge. If this capacity weakens, AI’s foundation could erode. AI’s potential spans from self-driving cars and chess to speeches and articles.
The US government aims to develop autonomous weapons and surveillance systems, with recent debates between the Pentagon and Anthropic on this issue.
Despite their potential, these models aren’t yet self-aware enough for self-control in warfare, risking civilian harm, unintended attacks, and privacy issues. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stressed the need for reliable technology for national security while safeguarding democratic values. Current models are narrow AI with specific, limited goals. Companies aim to develop models capable of general tasks, known as ‘artificial general intelligence.’
Some models, like German researcher Arend Hintze explains, have little or no memory for decision-making, relying on computational power and algorithms to recreate decisions each time. Others have limited memory, gaining experiential knowledge of situations. Hintze notes that when the machine recognises the same situation, it can draw on experience to reduce reaction time and allocate more resources to new decisions.
In a country of about 3 million with 1.8 million workers and 546,805 employed, key questions arise. Youth unemployment is 44.4%, and overall unemployment is 36.9%. Will AI eliminate or create jobs in Namibia? To what extent should employees integrate AI into their work? How much will companies pay? Who do we train for AI jobs? How can we create jobs amid technology, skill, and access challenges? These pressing questions need answers. [Source: New Era Newspaper]
