The Chief Information Officer of MTN Ghana, Bernard Acquah, has urged technology leaders and businesses to shed fears about artificial intelligence (AI) displacing workers, insisting the technology is designed to enhance human capability and transform the nature of work rather than eliminate jobs.
Speaking at the 4th Annual Chief Technology and Innovation Officers (CTIO) Roundtable Africa 2026 at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Acquah described AI as a “horizontal technology” that, like electricity and the internet before it, will cut across every sector of the economy and reshape how work is done.
He referenced World Economic Forum (WEF) projections that while around 92 million jobs could be displaced by 2030, approximately 170 million new roles are expected to be created, producing a net gain in global employment. Routine and repetitive tasks face the greatest risk of automation, he said, while roles requiring judgement, strategy, and creativity will grow in demand.
“AI is supposed to enhance you, not replace you. It is about guiding you to do a better job,” he told participants, stressing that professionals must shift from task execution to supervising and directing AI systems toward defined outcomes.
Acquah drew attention to the rise of what he described as “agentic AI”, a new generation of autonomous systems capable of performing complex tasks with minimal human oversight, marking a significant step beyond tools such as basic search engines. He cautioned, however, that this evolution brings serious challenges around cybersecurity, data privacy, governance, and workforce reskilling, and that organisations must manage these risks alongside the opportunities.
He warned against uncritical reliance on AI outputs, noting that domain expertise remains essential to catching errors and detecting what he called “hallucinations” in AI-generated results. “We are still accountable as leaders for what the tool does. AI is a tool; you cannot blame it if you didn’t guide it properly,” he said.
On the business case for AI, Acquah challenged technology leaders to anchor AI investments around three outcomes: productivity gains, cost efficiency, and revenue growth. “No CFO invests in technology without asking how it drives revenue,” he noted.
