The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation has created anxiety about jobs being lost to robots; the Doomsday predictions are that developing countries such as Kenya will miss the development benefits of a manufacturing sector.

As a new Pathways for Prosperity Commission report shows, these technologies, while disruptive, could create huge opportunities for growth.

But we need to learn from previous disruptions and identify the areas of the economy where AI and other emerging technologies can drive growth. Most importantly, we need to prepare the workforce with skills and knowledge.

Kenya is unlikely to make advances in state-of-the-art AI or data science.

There are neither enough African institutions to teach and inspire people in these cutting-edge sectors nor jobs to attract them.

We do have, however, a deep understanding of the complexity of our local context and that knowledge is a crucial, and under-appreciated, element of innovation. Innovation must be applied to real world problems.

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