Africa-Press – Botswana. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has cautioned that the biggest threat facing Botswana is unemployment.
The main economic, societal, and technological risks for Botswana in 2024 were listed in the report released last Wednesday in the following order: “unemployment, inflation, inequality, household debt and digital inequality”.
The 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Insight highlights that “the report explores the global risk landscape in this phase of transition and governance systems being stretched beyond their limit. It analyses the most severe perceived risks to economies and societies over two and 10 years, in the context of these influential force”.
The organization stated in the insight report that a variety of risks represent the greatest long-term threats. Based on a survey of around 1,500 experts, business leaders, and policymakers, the research was released ahead of the yearly elite gathering of chief executives and eminent leaders in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos.
In addition, the insight report highlights how the rapid advancements in technology are not only creating new problems but also exacerbating old ones. WEF lists misinformation and disinformation as the most serious global risk over the next two years.
This is a double whammy for Botswana, which is gearing up for its national elections later this year. Botswana’s integration into the global economy is underscored by the country’s snowballing susceptibility to the growing incidence of disinformation. With new threats expected to emerge as the general elections approach, some are wondering how much damage trolls are likely to inflict on the integrity of Botswana’s 2024 general elections. While it is still too early to compile and tabulate the data, a cursory examination reveals that online bots and trolls have significantly evolved since the 2019 general elections.
The authors are concerned that the rise in generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, may allow anyone without specialized expertise to create complex synthetic material that can be used to manipulate large groups of people.
“Despondent headlines are borderless, shared regularly and widely, and a sense of frustration at the status quo is increasingly palpable. Together, this leaves ample room for accelerating risks – like misinformation and disinformation – to propagate in societies that have already been politically and economically weakened in recent year,” says WEF managing director, Saadia Zahidi.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
