Hey Dad, you were right about tech

Author’s note: in part one of a two-part series, I imagine a letter my son would write to me in 2050. The smart technology era brings with it tremendous promise for a better life on Earth, but there are also dire warnings that it could affect humanity with tragedy unimagined. In this part, I imagine that technological change would have resulted in a more utopian world. Next week’s article will be based on the converse conclusion.

Hey Dad, I wish you were still here. I celebrated my 36th birthday this week. You were always going on about technology and how society should take it seriously. I am so glad our society woke up to the fact that the advances in smart technology could make life better.

In 2020, the final report of the presidential commission on the fourth industrial revolution was officially gazetted. While the commission’s recommendations were at first largely ignored by government and businesses, they eventually woke up to the stark reality facing SA.

The world was changing fast and we were already left behind in the dust of international innovation. But finally, in 2022 an Artificial Intelligence Institute was created in Johannesburg. Many government departments aligned with the private sector to create sustainable solutions for a future workforce.

What was perhaps most surprising was that there was real action. SA went from conferences, opinion pieces and too much talking, to measurable initiatives that made a difference. SA became a destination of choice for many of the world’s largest technology companies.

Some of our top universities became academic destinations of choice. They were offering world-class and cutting-edge training, enabling business leaders globally to understand and embrace new technological capabilities.

We were able to create a number of offshore service centres, situated near some of our poorest rural communities. Thousands of young people were upskilled and worked in buildings that reminded us of Silicon Valley. There was so much enthusiasm as some of these youngsters became world-leading entrepreneurs.

We were able to use machine-learning algorithms to predict and treat illness. Even cancer is a thing of the past. My friends say we are now living in a transhumanist world.

My partner and I now have two children. Our doctor used artificial intelligence to compare our hereditary proclivity for illness to ensure that genetic flaws were removed from the genomes in the embryos. The doctor even asked us how we want our babies to look. Some scoff at our “designer babies” but we are happy and they are healthy.

Oh, and you would have loved this: everything in my home is automated through voice- and face-recognition technology. The fridge even orders food when we are running low, the heating and moisture are always at optimal levels and our carbon footprint is almost zero.

SA BECAME A DESTINATION OF CHOICE FOR MANY OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES