Professor Tshilidzi Marwala pens a book on Artificial Intelligence

By Edward Tsumele

 I am sure a lot of people who have watched the evolution of the career of this man would agree that he is the right person to pen a book about the Fourth Industrial Revolution where Artificial Intelligence will run supreme in so not a distant future. Artificial Intelligence is here and, it is happening right now.

For goodness’s sake he has written books about this new discipline in academia and he is a Vice Chancellor and Principal of a once conservative university that used to serve the interests of Afrikaaner Nationalism ideologically in its heydays.

The university has since transformed itself into a respectable institution since democracy dawned, and in fact, many a township based students matriculating today, ponders over a decision whether to go to Wits, or UJ when they matriculate. A lot must have something to do with the appointment of the university’s second person of colour as Vice Chancellor and Principal in its recent history. He is clearly role model in the black community. And that is Professor Tshilidzi Marwala at UJ.

This is not the first book Marwala has written on Artificial Intelligence though as he has written about this discipline is several academic papers previously.

”Pan Macmillan is proud to be releasing Closing the Gap: The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa, by Professor Tshilidzi Marwala. Closing the Gap is an accessible overview of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines South Africa’s position been through each one.

With a focus on Artificial Intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain Artificial Intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields. Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date, His publisher,” says in a statement released yesterday.