SA exploring more opportunities in its creative economy
Tang says WIPO sees AI and IP not as a challenge but rather as an opportunity.
Black News 
South Africa is looking to unlock more opportunities in its creative economy as the country grapples with unemployment, particularly among young people.
WIPO Director-General Daren Tang is in South Africa to engage on how intellectual property can help drive innovation, jobs and economic growth.
“The creative economy in South Africa provides employment to about a million people and it’s about 4% of GDP. And increasingly when you talk about the creative economy, we’re also talking about the digital economy, because creatives are using digital technologies to create and consume content,” says Tang.
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the way creative content is produced, questions over copyright and intellectual property are becoming increasingly urgent.
Tang says WIPO sees AI and IP not as a challenge but rather as an opportunity.
“WIPO sees IP not just as a challenge, but also an opportunity. And our work with the member states, including South Africa, is ‘how do we help make sure that AI is able to support the next wave, the next generation of human creators, but not to replace them’.”
