Exploring Prospects and Barriers to AI Adoption in Ethiopian Manufacturing

EasyChair Preprint 9713

Abstract

As the second most populous nation in Africa, Ethiopia is tasked with devising advanced manufacturing strategies in order to support its economic growth and reduce poverty. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already begun to shape the way we live our lives and is playing a vital role in the manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and other business sectors. Recent developments in Manufacturing services are embracing AI to manage a variety of industrial operations, replacing the need for human cognitive functions due to the growth of digitization. This technology is expected to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, with AI-enabled systems now employed in employee management, automated manufacturing processes, product tracking, and production monitoring services, amongst others. Notwithstanding, investing in AI carries risk factors that can have a long-term effect on the society and business itself, so assessing the risks at this early stage is necessary. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of AI in the Ethiopian manufacturing sector, based on secondary research from previous studies on AI in the manufacturing sector and valid documentation from prominent databases. Factors such as challenges and their analysis, and finally relevant issues to the study are also discussed.

Keyphrases: Artificial Intelligence, Digitization, Ethiopia, Manufacturing, risk factors

@booklet{EasyChair:9713,
  author    = {Tesfaye Mengistu Gelan and Beakal Gizachew Assefa},
  title     = {Exploring Prospects and Barriers to AI Adoption in Ethiopian Manufacturing},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 9713},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2023}}