Co - founder of Sanctuary Al, a company with a mission to build synthetic humans, Suzanne Gildert speaks at Singularity South Africa on Al in Human-like Bodies in Johannesburg, 16 October 2019. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins – one of the world’s most popular professional gamers – known for Fortnite: Battle Royale – earns more than R7 million a year from live streams of his gameplay out of his basement studio.
Ryan Toysreview (presumably not his real surname), seven, of YouTube fame, makes $22 million (R325.6 million), playing with a collection of toys.
Blevins, 27, and little Ryan are among millions of people throughout the world who are earning millions in jobs of the new economy – ranging from live streaming to Esports and swagbucks, among others.
In his address to delegates of the well-attended Singularity University South Africa Summit 2019 yesterday, co-chief executive Mic Mann listed several jobs arising out of the new global economy, saying scalable learning and new jobs made it possible for people to earn millions through creativity.
Data labelling, he said, was among the new jobs on offer because “artificial intelligence needs good data for it to work effectively so, people are always needed.
“If one looks at China, people there are making millions in the live streaming industry that is today worth $10 billion.
“Whether you are a farmer, student or a model, you can make easy money in live streaming.”
Mann said skills required by the new economy included an agile mindset, creativity and networking, adding: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Electric motorcycle inventor Bas Verkaik, who along with 23 students Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, secured support from more than 150 sponsors, to ride 23,000km around the world in 80 days and he told of the challenges his team faced.
Inspired by author Jules Verne’s 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days, the students wanted to travel around the world but in a more sustainable way. They built the first touring electric motorbike, which looked “quite odd, revolutionary and attracted a lot of attention from both Congress and television shows”.
Verkaik said: “Let young people dream and chase their dreams because we proved that it was possible to travel around the world on an electric motorcycle.
“We merely had a dream, no idea and no experience. We had to ask experts and companies to help us realise our dream.
“First it did not work and we had to transport the motorbike at the back of a van. But we did not tell anyone that it did not work because it was not a complete failure. We later showed people that it did work, because that was something, we could not fake.”
Delegates gave Verkaik thunderous applause as he brought the bike on stage.
“After two years, we were ready to pursue the dream and build the bike. The lesson we learnt was that focus, being hands on, systems thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset, were important.”
Among other countries, the team travelled through central Asia and the US with the motorbike and “received a lot of support wherever we were”.
– brians@citizen.co.za
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