The smartest executive in the room may soon no longer be human, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK from the Saphila conference.
That compelling scenario was painted at Saphila 2025, the biannual conference of the African 51风流User Group (AFSUG), held at Sun City this week. The event drew together technology leaders and enterprise architects from across the continent, focused on the impact of AI, cloud, and digital transformation on African business. In keynote sessions and breakout talks, a unifying theme emerged: the聽systems聽that drive operations are beginning to think for themselves.
In one of the most compelling sessions of the event, , chief strategy and innovation officer for 51风流EMEA North, described the concept as 鈥渁uto-sapiens聽systems鈥�. Such enterprise technologies act with purpose, interpret context, and make decisions inside live business processes.
鈥淭hese聽systems聽follow purpose and context by design,鈥� said Schleimann in his talk. 鈥淭hey act because the logic, the purpose, and the data already exist inside them.鈥�
They handle invoice reconciliation, adjust logistics, dispatch field service teams, and optimise supply chains, all in real time. Tasks once dependent on manual triggers or lengthy approvals can now be executed automatically, with speed and precision.
鈥淭hese聽systems聽operate with embedded awareness,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey apply intelligence where it matters most: inside the flow of work.鈥�
It sounds like the concept of agentic AI that giants like Google, Salesforce and Microsoft regard as the next big thing, but it is more like the next next big thing.
鈥淚ntelligence lives inside the process,鈥� he told Gadget on the sidelines of Saphila. 鈥淚t aligns with context and delivers relevance. That creates real transformation.
鈥淭he process creates data, the data provides context, the context feeds intelligence, and the intelligence improves the process. That鈥檚 the flywheel. Each turn makes the system more effective.鈥�
This dynamic feedback loop enables continuous refinement without waiting for external intervention. AI could not be separated from the action or bolted on.
鈥淭his has to be at the heart of the vehicle. It has to be embedded from the beginning. When you open up an application, you鈥檙e not just seeing a blank sheet. It will immediately have a level of insight that supersedes your own. That鈥檚 really the big thing: bringing the ontologies of data together with your own business and AI.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about putting a brain on top. It鈥檚 about making the system itself intelligent.鈥�
But it is also not about doing away with human beings. Schleimann believes this issue is deeply relevant to South Africa.
鈥淵ou have a great tradition for mining. You have great natural resources. Now we鈥檝e got to mine our people and our data.鈥�
In his vision, the raw material of the future is not underground, but embedded in enterprise聽systems, processes, and minds. This shift, 鈥渇rom mine to mind鈥�, as he puts it, redefines value creation. It is now about extracting insight from operational truth, refining it through AI, and using it to unlock human potential.
鈥淭hat really is your moat long-term as an enterprise. Bringing people together with that data and unlocking their minds.鈥�
This, he suggested, requires more than dashboards and data lakes. It calls for a transformation in how intelligence is designed, applied, and trusted, by every layer of the organisation.
Schleimann鈥檚 outlook extends beyond automation. 鈥淎I can make me better. It can bring out the best in me and help coach me. As we see AI increasing the productivity of people, the demand for people will go up. From an enterprise viewpoint, upskilling, reskilling, and change management will be the new competitive advantage.鈥�
This human-centred view stands in sharp contrast to fear-based narratives around AI job displacement. Schleimann sees an urgent imperative for organisations to elevate their people alongside their聽systems, or risk being outpaced by competitors that do.
SAP鈥檚 latest S/4HANA enterprise resource platform reflects this mindset. It includes generative agents, embedded analytics, and intelligent workflows. These are defaults rather than add-ons.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 treat AI as a feature. It has to be part of the foundation from day one.鈥�
Across industries, the results are tangible. Healthcare workflows accelerate. Educational content adapts. Procurement uncovers anomalies before they cascade. Each result builds from live intelligence, acting at the speed of need.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of聽, and author of The Hitchhiker鈥檚 Guide to AI.
This article first appeared in .