As Majority Dreams Whisper, AI Emerges Among the Empowered Minority
In my humble home – the nation I cherish, dreams of success and luxury living fill the minds of most. The youth, proudly carrying the flag in front of the masses, march for a better tomorrow. Unfortunately, they find themselves speeding in multiple wrong directions.
Their minds remain in a dormant state they don’t even realize. They point fingers at leaders they never voted for, accepting in public what they blame in private. The double-faced generation, proud of undeployed talents, forgets about their own hidden potential that is lost in fear—fear to engage, fear to speak out, fear to act, and fear to step out of their comfort zones.
AI as a New Player Among the Minority
The wake of current technological advancements, where machines get smarter, poses a dilemma for the majority. As the powerful minority embraces AI, the majority risks losing influence and control over their future. The gaps between the haves and have-nots may widen if choices and decisions continue to feed biased data to AI, shaping a future that doesn’t align with our collective aspirations. Banning AI will not help, the solution is teaching it good and productive lessons, just as any parent would to their children.
The biases in our societies manifest in various spheres, dividing communities into groups of rich and poor, educated and less educated, developed and developing, strong and weak, growing and stagnant, or right and wrong.
Four spheres hold keys to the future where we don’t judge each other based on which side of society we belong: (1) politics, (2) business & employment, (3) how responsive different societies are to technological advancements, and (4) the level of investment in creative innovation. While 100% equality may be elusive, a level playing ground offers each one of us a chance to be judged by how well we tap into our potential, not by how deep we are in favor of the systems.
Why now is the right moment to act
In a country with the majority of youths and a high birth rate like Tanzania, the young generation has a better chance to build an ideal society with proper distribution of power. Numbers and technology favor this movement toward a brighter future, presenting a perfect timing in human history.
Today’s history would not be in a position to remember Bob Marley if he chose gospel music over liberation reggae. Similarly, Martin Luther’s dream of change might not have manifested if he had misinterpreted it by running for office, thinking he was the Obama of his times.
Like the sapiens built our present societies with stone tools and fire, we build the societies of a thousand years not with tech but rather with what we choose to do with tech.
What the current situations tell us
Most of us, especially the youth slumber through the night and day, every passing moment! While one might argue it’s a well-deserved rest, considering the enduring struggles, hustles, and trials etched in the annals of generations past, dwelling in sympathy for past failures doesn’t serve anyone in the present or the years ahead. It breeds a false sense of accomplishment, as they perceive themselves as problem solvers, only to inadvertently birth new and more formidable challenges. In their pursuit of addressing illusory problems, they unwittingly forge a path to fresh dilemmas for themselves and the generations that follow.
In Business and Employment: Youth Unemployment & Systems Challenges
Youth unemployment rate is high and few of them can run a successful business. The systems are not friendly enough to encourage growth and flourishment of the startup economy. On top of that, education systems are not well-aligned with global trends.
On the other hand, the powerful minority have strong influence in the business and employment sectors. They have a better view of the opportunities, risks and challenges that come with AI. No one responds better to opportunities like an entrepreneur especially when they have their eye on a potential buyer for their new product. AI is enhancing the minority power and influence over the market. AS the minority strengthen their services for the products they sell to the majority, the latter feel comfortable with their positions as they enjoy more affordable products and services at a better quality, thanks to AI.
In Politics: Overcoming the Tradition
Youth have a very low participation rate. The old African wisdom still plays a role in convincing them to leave positions of power to the Wazee (older generations). The Wazee (Elders) I turn, hold all powers to themselves perpetuating a generational mentorship program on “How to accomplish your fathers’ failed dreams by pretending not see his weaknesses”
Drawing insights from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, one must contemplate the potential consequences of deploying AI in targeted political campaigns. The looming question is: How much worse could it get? Should we be concerns about the possibility of infiltration of deep-fakes into social media during elections? Should Electoral Commissions install AI-powered security in their voting systems, what could possible y happen if they reject this new tech? In such a scenario, the opportunistic actions of a few politicians could pose a significant threat to the integrity of biometric voting, potentially reaching unprecedented levels of risk.
If we still cannot draw a line between authentic footage and deep-fakes, how could we confidently say that the security of online voting systems cannot be compromised? How can we prevent infiltration of fake voters?
All these doubts on the possible compromise in the reliability of the electoral process pose more harm to the majority than the powerful minority.
In Technology: Encouraging Tech Adoption
The tech adoption rate is low, with many young folks settling for the simple and less transformative side of tech growth. I see many of the young folks resisting innovations and change such as Machine Intelligence, calling it all sorts of names while their own smart devices rely heavily on it. They call it the work of the devil, yet they never advocate or create a just course for the work of the righteous.
A contrasting narrative unfolds among the minority community. Their skepticism is less likely to hinder them from recognizing the evident opportunities presented by new technologies. In fact, a significant number of them emerge as champions and early adopters when it comes to the introduction of cutting-edge tech into the market. Unlike the majority, who perceive tech products as symbols of luxury and status, the minority prioritizes efficiency. They invest in technology that not only provides a sense of convenience but also saves time, money, and energy, thereby enhancing overall productivity.
Creativity & Innovation: Nurturing Visioners
History has continuously stifled creativity in our societies right from the holders’ infancy. No wonder we have a poor startup economy and those in positions of power don’t seem to see this as a problem. We need more visionaries, the Jumanne Mtambalike of now and tomorrow to support the current efforts towards change that is aligned with global trends.
While systems play a role in all of this, clinging to a neocolonial narrative won’t help. We should write our own story covered in a book with a newly designed futuristic cover. Craft the very history that we wish our future-selves to tell the generations yet to come.
Choosing No Sides is Choosing the Right Course.
For the dreaming generation to realize the life they see in their dreams; they do not need to wait for the suited-men to fulfil their political promises; nor will their dreams materialize after shouting “ameen” to preachers’ wisdom. Get me right, it’s not because the leaders are wrong, but because their inspirations do not align with the hungry desires and true aspirations from the hearts of the followers. Leadership, whether right or misleading, fails to press the right buttons to unlock the treasures of talents hidden within the youths—the present and future of our world.
Dreamers want to live in dreams failing to realize is that dreams are true in the dream world but illusions when you wake up. If Martin Luther decided to go back to sleep, he would have died a dreamer and not a legendary leader of change. He wouldn’t have inspired millions of other dreamers to stand up and fight for what they believed was right. Probably, America and the world would not be the same way we see them today.
By choosing to stick to the fantasies of our dreams, we choose the side of the poor, the less educated, the oppressed, the finger-pointers, the lazy ones, the dying generations. If we choose to wake up and start walking towards the land where dreams are turned into realities, we choose no-sides, we choose to do the right thing, we choose accomplishment, we choose fulfillment.
Let’s not blame our failure on the speck of sawdust in others’ eyes and ignore the plank in our own. Let’s acknowledge that our desired outcomes will always be a result of the change from within us. It’s not about inventing our new-version-selves but rather unlocking the very DNA of who we truly are—to unleash our creativity based on the very fabric that created us.
The Time is Now
Machines are becoming intelligent, thanks to dreamers who took their place in the world of the wake. As machines get smarter at an alarming speed, the privileged group of this generation stands a better chance of taking an opportunity of the current wave to sail further as the “less privileged” dwell on a debate of whether the AI wave was sent by the devil or not. Skepticism is a good thing until it impedes positive growth and progress.
It’s time for dreamers to wake up and stop their silence. It may take a day, a week, a month, a year, maybe a generation, but the time to start is now. The time to act is now because the time to wake was yesterday, and change is every day. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So, let’s take that step today and start our journey now.
Author: Michael Kamukulu, a Data Stories and Analytics Specialist
