Ghanaians have been advised to embrace technology and the impact of the social sciences as a means to boosting the country’s economic growth.
This, according to experts, would alleviate some of the pressing issues that face the Ghanaian economy as well as improving human capabilities.
The advice came at the end of the 2nd symposium series held by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science (GAAS) in celebration of their Founder’s Week and 60th anniversary celebration.
The symposium was addressed by Professor Joseph Aryee, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, on the topic: “A Prognosis of the New Frontiers and Prospects of the Social Sciences for Scholarly Excellence in Ghana,” and Dr Noel Tagoe, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Noel Tagoe and Company, on the topic: “Technology, People and National Development: Some Possibilities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Work in Ghana.”
Speaking, Dr Noel Tagoe stated that technology around the world was rapidly expanding, but Africa, especially Ghana, seemed to be unable to join in the progress, stating that policy makers and stakeholders were uninterested in developing or investing in artificial intelligence.
“Although the President had pledged to push the country into technology, there are still numerous people who fear that the introduction of technology would mark the end of jobs,” Dr Tagoe said.
He advised that citizens were to become complementary to AI in order to maintain their jobs, adding, “upgrading your skills and improving your capacity is the only way to stay relevant when machines are introduced to takeover some tasks in life; AI replaces skills and tasks, but as long as you are more capable, through constant learning and upgrading, your jobs would be secured.”
Prof Aryee, on his part, noted that the social sciences were greatly underutilised, despite their enormous benefits to every economy.
“Social science is the study of social, cultural, psychological, economic and geo-political forces that guide individual actions, adding that, it is through these studies that solutions to issues like poverty, starvation, and disease are found,” he added.
Prof Aryee noted that of all the fellows at the GAAS, barely half were social scientists, which was big blow to the sciences, and called on stakeholders and intellectuals to find amicable ways to spur scientists, both past and future, to delve into the social sciences.
“A major challenge facing social scientists from scholarly excellence was the lack of funds to sponsor researched and the unavailability of journals for social scientists to publish their works,” he said.
Prof Aryee, therefore, called on scientific bodies to aid social scientists in Ghana as they were essential to seeking out the solutions to various economic challenges that plagued the country.
BY FREDERICK GADESE-MENSAH
