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11th Annual Mistra Lecture To Unpack Potential And Pitfalls Of AI

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11th Annual Mistra Lecture To Unpack Potential And Pitfalls Of AI:

South Africa, 29 November 2023 – The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), in partnership with the University of Johannesburg, is set to host the 11th annual Mapungubwe Lecture on Wednesday, 06 December 2023. The annual lecture is the institute’s flagship event and has been happening annually since 2012.

A highlight on the academic and intellectual calendar, the lecture attracts a diverse audience ranging from experts in academia, research and government to business leaders, students and practitioners in the public and private sectors.

This year’s lecture will be delivered by the former vice-chancellor and principal of UJ, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala. He is currently the Rector of the United Nations (UN) University and UN Under-Secretary-General. He has extensive academic, policy, management and international experience and is a co-holder of five patents. In addition, Prof Marwala is, inter alia, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Science of South Africa and the African Academy of Sciences. He has received awards including the Order of Mapungubwe (South Africa’s highest national honour) and the Academy of South Africa’s Science-for-Society Gold Medal. In 2021, he was named the IT Personality of the Year by the Institute of IT Professionals South Africa.

His address will unpack the theme: “The perils and welfare effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI): whither South Africa?” During the lecture, he will detail the potential and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, particularly within a South African context. This topic is critical, given the fact that the global AI market is booming. By 2024, it is expected that there will be more AI assistants than people in the world. And near 2030, AI will add $ 15.7 trillion dollars to the globe’s GDP.

“Prof Marwala has conducted multidisciplinary research around the theory and applications of AI in fields like engineering, social science, economics, politics, finance and medicine. In addition, he has served on a variety of global and national policymaking bodies. What an incredible privilege it is to maintain him share his insights on this relevant and significant topic,” says MISTRA’s Director Operations, Dr Yacoob Abba Omar.

“As UJ, we always relish the opportunity to host events like this, says Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UJ. “As centres for research and development, universities believe an unending responsibility to create spaces where people can advance together to find solutions to society’s core problems. This event serves as a prime example of this.”

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Museum Africa: Challenges

As of 2026, Museum Africa also stands as a symbol of the challenges facing urban heritage in a developing megacity. For years, the museum has battled with funding shortages and the physical toll of maintaining a century-old industrial building. Heritage activists and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation have frequently stepped in to advocate for the protection of its “at-risk” archives, which include invaluable architectural drawings of the city’s early skyline. Despite these struggles, the museum remains a vital “cultural bedrock.” It sits adjacent to the Market Theatre, where the “protest theatre” of the 1970s challenged the regime, and overlooks Mary Fitzgerald Square, the historic site of labor strikes and political rallies. Museum Africa is not a polished, sterile “white cube” gallery; it is a gritty, honest, and deeply layered institution that mirrors the resilience of the Newtown district itself.