The chances of Serbia swiftly joining the increasingly accelerating trend of AI and this time not missing the train of the new industrial revolution were queried by 24sedam from economic expert Aleksandar Radivojević.
The awareness that an era of artificial intelligence lies ahead, realizing that this isn’t merely another technological fad, is present in Serbia as well. Will we be able to “seize the moment” now, at the outset when everyone is more or less in the same position, or will we again miss the train leading to a better future? This was the question posed to Aleksandar Radivojević, a PhD student in economic sciences and program manager at the Foundation for the Development of Economic Science (FREN).
Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Serbia
Radivojević addressed the issue of the application of artificial intelligence and its adoption in Serbia in the latest edition of the “Quarterly Monitor.”
“This is our opportunity. Not because we are one of the few countries that have an official artificial intelligence development strategy, as that does not guarantee its implementation here, but because we are at the very beginning. There is already the infrastructure in place for its implementation, and now is the chance, because for the first time, essentially, we are not lagging behind; we are not starting late. We fell behind in the ’90s, in the 2000s, no matter which era we refer to, we were a step behind in various technologies and technological changes where we tried to catch up. Now, everyone is starting from scratch, and we have a huge opportunity. It’s just a matter of whether we’re ready to seize it. I believe that this technology will define some of our future, a bright future in the next period, and I think we have a good chance to at least slightly catch up with developed countries based on this technology,” highlighted Radivojević at the beginning of the conversation.
The opportunity is enormous, and the anticipated consequences of AI implementations worldwide are even greater. In Serbia alone, the use of artificial intelligence is projected to render 70,000 jobs unprofitable for human labor, while another 400,000 positions are “exposed” and require necessary changes for AI tool adoption. Overall, around 17% of the total registered workforce in the country is more or less susceptible to AI.
“I don’t see any significant negative aspect in this. Indeed, the domestic economy will take a hit, especially small and medium-sized enterprises that will have to struggle with AI adoption on their own. We must be ready to implement everything we can immediately because significant state investment is not to be expected, nor should we hope to produce applications ourselves. The major players worldwide will handle that, and the implementation is up to us,” emphasized Radivojević.
It’s essential not to perceive things with fear or pessimism because artificial intelligence has been present in Serbia for several years, but it hasn’t been recognized as such due to the lack of hype around it.
“The good thing about artificial intelligence is that it’s a technology that will be more readily applicable and easier to adopt even by the domestic economy. We have seen, for example, that Raiffeisen Bank has AI-based support in customer service for three or four years now. At gatherings of the Serbian Association of Managers, it was evident that large companies, their members, are already involved in this, such as ‘Nelt’ and others… They are prepared for it, aware of it, and know it will simply be something they must have if they want to keep up or stay ahead of the competition,” noted our interlocutor.
We Must Be “Computer-Savvy”
In an economy where AI will play an increasingly prominent role, the interaction between employees and technology and their level of digital skills becomes crucial. FREN highlights that Serbia faces a problem due to the relatively low percentage of citizens in the labor market possessing basic digital skills or skills above the basic level.
The percentage of digitally literate citizens in the labor market (53%) is below the EU average (61%), and based on this indicator, Serbia ranks 29th out of 36 observed countries. For those older than 55, the situation is even worse compared to just a few countries. This could pose a significant challenge in adapting to the changes brought about by AI.
For large multinational companies operating in Serbia, as well as the best domestic ones, there might not be any concerns. However, AI imposes a transformation on the entire economy, and in Serbia, there are significant difficulties, even with “ordinary” digitalization.
What’s negative about our economy is that we’re not fundamentally an innovative economy. Yes, the IT sector is growing here, but mostly in service jobs for foreigners, with little being done for the domestic market or being adopted here. We must quickly focus on informing and educating our economy about what AI is and how they can use it now. This is where the role of the state and the Chamber of Commerce comes in. There’s no reason why the Institute for Artificial Intelligence couldn’t organize lectures, starting with professors and managers and then expanding. Even media campaigns don’t cost that much or require significant resources – emphasized Radivojević.
AI Isn’t a Passing Fad, It’s Here and Working
If at the beginning of last year there were debates about whether AI is the real deal or just a short-lived technological novelty, by the end of 2023, that debate was settled.
You can now see reports from institutions like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley where they simply present artificial intelligence to their clients as something more significant than the internet and more impactful than personal computers or anything before. It’s simply a general-purpose technology that people who haven’t had contact with it may not see, but if any of us were to engage even a bit with basic examples available to us, such as this chatbot, GPT, we’d understand why everyone is thrilled by it, explains the 24sedam interviewee.
Radivojević here warns that artificial intelligence isn’t the same as the chatbot GPT, which some people complain about, saying it “makes mistakes.”
In practical business applications, it’s something entirely different from what you engage in when interacting with a chatbot and getting a response as an ordinary internet user. Although the technology is the same, in economic applications within a company, you assign tasks within a purposeful, limited database and under rules that are much narrower and stricter than those for “chitchat” on the web. Then you get real information you need, like a bank officer or someone from technical support – concludes Aleksandar Radivojević.
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