local ones . In Malaysia , we have seen evidence of such practices in the recent banning of our rubber gloves and palm oil products into the US market . Digitalisation again offers the potential to reduce the dependence on manual labour through the deployment of machine learning and AI in robotics and automation .
DIGITALISATION EMPOWERS CONNECTIVITY
It is clear that connectivity has always played a critical role in the functioning of the world . In the past , the focus was on local connectivity . But as the world becomes more globalised , connectivity between countries becomes necessary . With the advent of telecommunications , enhanced through digital technologies , global productivity has increased by leaps and bounds . The barriers related to the long distances between nations were eliminated through the advances made in digital communication . Later , the global dependence on low-cost labour started showing strains on productivity . Again the power of digitalisation came to the rescue . With the advances made in machine learning and AI , two of the most transformative technologies in digitalisation , the world may soon overcome the manual labour dependence barrier to productivity . The power of digitalisation will no doubt continue to eliminate the remaining barriers to connectivity , thus empowering improvements to productivity .
CONCLUSION
Evidence of how digitalisation helps support connectivity abounds . The world will continue to enhance connectivity in the global effort to improve productivity , a key concern of economic growth . We are not just talking about connectivity between people ; increasingly , the connectivity between people and machine has also become viable , further boosting global productivity growth . This is where digitalisation technologies including AI , IoT and robotics will make that difference to the world .
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