At a recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference in Johannesburg, I watched people marvel at a robot walking across a stage.
It was an impressive demonstration of how quickly AI and robotics are advancing. But during a conversation afterwards, Tertius Zitzke, the chief executive officer (CEO) of 4Sight Holdings, a South African technology company, offered a useful reminder. Someone had to put that robot in a vehicle, drive it to the conference, switch it on and eventually put it back in its crate.
The joke points to a bigger problem with the way we talk about AI.
We are fascinated by the visible parts of artificial intelligence: chatbots, humanoid robots, copilots and sophisticated AI assistants. But some of the most consequential AI adoption may be happening in much less visible places.
It is taking place within the systems that process invoices, manage workflows, optimise energy consumption, operate mines, and support business decision-making.
