Writing is largely considered a craft, a manual task that marries both the cerebral need to think about each and every word that sits on the page (or screen) whilst also manually placing the letters onto the paper with a hand tool, whether pen or keyboard. Portrait galleries around the world throng with images of scribes struggling to make their art near to perfect. Writing, though, is far from immune to the move towards greater automation. Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools are becoming more prevalent. With CEOs demanding greater automation, digitised business processes and seeking market growth, it is perhaps inevitable that just as the quill made way for the pen and then the keyboard, AI-powered content creation will become essential to write the sheer volume of material a modern enterprise requires.

In the surreal past few months, P.W. Singer has watched the concept for his new science fiction thriller come to life. Singer is an author, an expert on 21st-century warfare at New America and, lately more than ever, a consultant helping companies in tech and other industries grapple with the repercussions of global unrest. His soon-to-be-released novel about social upheaval, automation and artificial intelligence, "Burn-in," is named after the practice of pushing a new technology to the breaking point. But Singer didn't expect the future of technology to arrive as fast as it has amid the fallout from COVID-19, forcing tech companies, governments and people everywhere to adapt on the fly. Get what matters in tech, in your inbox every morning. "Has Pandora ever been put back in a box?" Singer asked during a recent phone interview from his home near Washington, D.C. "Roles and applications that would have previously seen a more gradual transition over the course of years have been pushed forward in a matter of weeks."

The world has experienced four industrial revolutions and as each has unfolded, so have dire predictions of massive job losses. Looking back at the first three, it is clear that concerns were misplaced. The number of jobs increased each time, as did living standards and every other social indicator. McKinsey predicts that 800 million workers could be displaced in 42 countries -- a third of the workforce -- because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Although similar predictions were made at the onset of each revolution of the past, could there be something more to it this time?

Ever since Homo erectus, or upright man, a type of early human, carved a piece of stone into a tool, the welfare of our species has been on the increase. Indeed, this technological breakthrough led first to the hand ax, and eventually to the iPhone. We have found it convenient to organize the most dramatic periods of change between these inventions into four industrial revolutions. As each revolution unfolded, dire predictions of massive job losses ensued. Looking back at the first three, we can see how the concerns were misplaced. The number of jobs increased each time, as did living standards.

Broadcaster and Convener of Alliance for Women in Media Africa, Shamima Muslim has urged institutions and establishments to embrace artificial intelligence for a positive impact and growth in their businesses. Speaking at the just ended Women in PR Ghana Summit 2018 on the topic, 'Forging new alliances between the Media and Public Relations Professionals, the former anchor of Citi FM's Eyewitness News said "In a global world where technical automation is going to have huge implications for the future of work, technology and innovation is birthing greater automation where greater automation is leading to the use of artificial intelligence and robotics." "As organizations grow to become global institutions and can afford artificial intelligence, they will have lesser needs for humans. There is going to be a challenge for jobs for wages and skills if one does not have the requisite skills to match up and justify why you should be held on as a PR executive who is supposed to generate and monitor reviews on a daily basis which may take a week to attain them to a client where as an investment in artificial intelligence will generate and identify threats and everything relating to a business within minutes", she added. The event which took place last weekend at the Oak Plaza Hotel located at East Airport Accra was themed, "Press for progress; PR women making strides".