Rhodes Forum on Technology & Society 2024

One of the things I love most about my job is that I get to spend time with brilliantly entrepreneurial people, and watch them go from a seed of an idea to something impactful (whether at a micro or global level). Everyday at Queen Mary University of London I meet students and researchers just like this, and I am blown away by their tenacity, ability, and hope for creating change.

Because it is so interesting (and I can live vicariously through these fabulous people!), I find it really hard to say no to being part of early stage support activities. Small interventions and help can have a huge impact at this stage, and it is so rewarding to be able to play a small part in progress.

So with my "yes" hat on again, I spent an amazing saturday afternoon back up in Oxford, joining the Rhodes Trust Forum on Technology & Society (thank you Sorina Campean). I had the immense privilege of being one of three judges (along with Patrick Pichette and Eddie Mandhry) for the Innovation Challenge, listening to six teams at the very early stages of their entrepreneurial journey - all using AI to empower people to build more meaningful lives. They were all very early, but the potential is huge - I look forward to staying in touch with Equitech Futures to support these ventures.

It’s been a crazy week and a bit. Actually, it’s been a crazy few months, but I’m getting used to that. I thought it was about time I sat down to reflect a little.

Caleb Anderson-de Waal and I traveled to Oxford to attend the Rhodes Trust Forum on Technology and Society as finalists in the Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge. Over the last few months, we’ve scraped together time outside our studies to develop our app, Huddle, a job-matching platform for low and semi-skilled labor in Cape Town. We never truly expected to present in Oxford, and we most certainly didn’t expect to win £10,000.

But there’s a bigger picture. The theme of this year’s forum was about having hope in a technologically driven future. We can so often get wrapped up in the doom-and-gloom of it all, especially when it comes to AI. But that Saturday was a good reminder of why we’re all doing this. And Anna Rosling Rönnlund would probably remind us that the world isn’t actually as bad as we make it out to be. More on that another time.

It’s important to have hope and to recognize those who are trying to do wonders with the tools becoming available to us. We weren’t the only winners— Qusai Hammouri and the MDus.ai team walked away with the larger share of the grand prize. To Qusai, congratulations—I’ve never been happier to be bested. I could see how much this meant to you. Well-earned, and thank you to all the teams that applied, competed, and put in so much work.

To Abhilash Mishra, Linda Kinning, and Thomas Murray—you and Equitech Futures have changed my life. I hope you know that. To all the rest of the Equitech Futures alumni, I couldn’t have dreamed of having such support.

Of course, a big thank you to Kevin Xu for funding the innovation challenge. Our app doesn't exist without this opportunity.

To Georgie Thurston, Sorina Campean and everyone else involved, thank you for all the work you’ve done to make the forum happen and to ensure it ran as smoothly as it did. It can often be a thankless job, so thank you.

And to Caleb—working with you these last few months has been, as you so often say, an honor and a privilege, but not quite as much of an honor as calling you my friend. Let’s go make this thing happen.

#TechAndSociety2024 #Innovation

#AtlanticFellows Fola Adeleke and Georgia Nicolau were speakers at the Rhodes Forum on Technology and Society, hosted by the Rhodes Trust on Nov. 2.

On the panel, Data Defenders, Fola talked about the exploitative extraction of data. "Without our data, data colonialism does not work and we need to be deliberate in how we push back against the exploration, expansion and exploitation of the virtual territories of our datafied lives,” Fola said.

Georgia called for the need to put people at the center when planners shaped the future of cities. She said: “While technology is important, it’s ultimately people, their knowledge and the infrastructures they inhabit that build resilient, participatory and sustainable cities. Cities, public policies and neighborhoods should foster coexistence, solidarity, creativity and collaboration for collective solutions. These initiatives are more sustainable when they embrace diversity and connect with local knowledge.”

They were selected to speak on panels that brought together visionaries from the fields of science, technology, arts and social innovation to discuss ground-breaking developments in technology and their impact on society.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the Rhodes Forum on Technology and Society at the Rhodes House, University of Oxford. I had the opportunity to present our project as a finalist in the Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge — AI NneNNa: A Digital Coach for Igbo Elders in Nigeria. This project aims to bridge both the digital and inter-generational divides by helping elders learn digital skills in their native language and cultural context, while also addressing isolation and loneliness. Presenting to industry leaders and tech experts was a valuable experience, and the feedback I received will be crucial for my future🙌

But the pitch was just one part of the life-changing discussions and experiences I had. I learned so many important lessons from the wealth of knowledge shared during the event. 📚✨

I was deeply inspired by Patrick Pichette's keynote on what I call “Technology Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” I also gained a lot from the Data Defence team, and from New Horizons for Tech and Society led by Abhilash Mishra, which demonstrated the immense potential of technology to shape our future. 🌐💡 Alison Marshall’s insights on Bridging the Demographic Divide were eye-opening and made me think more about how technology can improve the lives of the elderly. 👵🏾👴🏽 Lastly, I am grateful to Anna Rosling Rönnlund of Dataminder Foundation for shedding light on how data-driven decisions can sometimes be flawed — it was one of the best presentations I’ve seen in a long time. 🔍

It’s impossible to fully capture the immense value of all the discussions and lessons I learned at this event. 🙏

A huge thank you to everyone at Rhodes Trust and Equitech Futures for making this opportunity possible. Events like this play a crucial role in helping students, professionals, and entrepreneurs at the early stage to develop the skills and mindset needed to succeed and contribute positively to society. 🚀🌍

And, of course, it was super amazing to meet the faces behind the voices I’ve been hearing from Equitech Futures over the years — staff and friends! Thomas Murray, Abhilash Mishra, Linda Kinning, Mohammed Mohammed, Clinton Manoti, Daniel van Zyl, Caleb Anderson-de Waal and many more. 🤝🏽

I am excited to put everything I’ve learned into practice, refine AI NneNNa, and continue the journey of innovation and impact. 👏

A good experience with a sneak peek into London Central too! 🏠

✨ Thank you to the Rhodes Trust Kevin Xu and partners Equitech Futures Atlantic Fellows and Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre for the opportunity to speak at the #TechAndSociety2024

It was a pleasure to return to the world of research & academic excellence. I appreciated the bold decision to feature our panel on "Data Defenders: Keeping Cyber Threats at Bay" right after the energizing, future-focused keynote from Patrick Pichette

The discussion was expertly moderated by Atharv Gupta with knowledgeable colleagues: Ahmed Achchak from Qevlar AI | We're Hiring! brought invaluable insights on #AI enabled #cyberthreats as well as how AI can be used to protect #dataintegrity and manage #digitalrisk—both crucial in today’s rapidly evolving cyber landscape. Mike Sexton (highly recommended to follow his work at Third Way) shared thoughtful reflections on AI’s role in current conflicts, and its policy implications for a stable, secure future. Fola Adeleke from the Global Center on AI Governance brought his expert perspective on #datacolonialism urging us to be vigilant in resisting the exploitation of our "datafied" lives.

When it comes to what keeps me awake at night, I can’t pinpoint one single threat, but rather:
🔷 #Polycrisis Context: Today’s cyber risks can’t be understood in isolation; they intersect with environmental, geopolitical, and societal issues.
🔷 #CyberPhysical & #CriticalInfrastructure Vulnerabilities: Increased digitization of essential services like healthcare and utilities has made critical infrastructure more susceptible to disruptive cyberattacks.
🔷 #ClimateChange & #CyberThreats: Extreme weather events can damage digital infrastructure, creating vulnerabilities that cyber actors may exploit.
🔷Rising #GeopoliticalTensions: Cyberattacks have become common tools in geopolitical conflicts, targeting critical systems and extending the impact beyond cyberspace.
🔷#AI "Democratizing" Crime: AI provides readily accessible tools for non-experts to execute sophisticated cyberattacks, automate phishing scams, and produce convincing misinformation, lowering the technical barrier for criminal activity.
🔷Fully #autonomouscyberattacks: AI-driven systems can independently identify vulnerabilities, launch attacks, and adapt in real-time—escalating threats with minimal human intervention.

🔷I'm deeply concerned about #CyberThreats targeting the #Nonprofit sector, from state and non-state actors - but often lacking adequate resources.
🔷With #AI enabling sophisticated cyberattacks and #disinformation campaigns—automating phishing, creating realistic deepfakes, and spreading false narratives—detection and defense have become even more challenging.

But we work - collaboratively - on solutions - like CyberPeace Institute #CyberPeaceBuilders and #CyberIncidentTracer platforms, our work on assessing the #humanharm of #cyberattacks and our responsible approach to #AI

#thanks to a greatly engaged audience with pretty challenging questions!

“We believe in a society where AI isn’t a threat to livelihood but rather a tool that empowers people to build more meaningful lives — what solutions help get us closer to this goal?”

THIS is the question I've been working with for the past few months in running the inaugural Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge and this weekend 6 amazing founders took to the stage to share their visions in Oxford at the #TechAndSociety2024 forum hosted with Rhodes Trust and Equitech Futures

And I am still riding the thrill of hope, creativity, and hard work that was illustrated by everyone of these founders.

If the future of technology feels scary to you right now, I want to remind you that there are people working on:
➡️ AI owned by and for indigenous communities to better uphold Tribal law and interface with US law
➡️ AI to train community leaders to combat misinformation in politically divided and rural areas
➡️ AI to create videos that customize and explain medical information to patients based on patient preferences in tone, complexity, language, and vibe
➡️ AI to connect semi-skilled labor with job opportunities in South Africa -- a market with nearly 40% unemployment rate
➡️ AI to teach digital and tech literacy to elders in Nigeria in their native language to combat digital divide and loneliness and isolation
➡️ AI to give law students better practical training to make sure access to quality legal services isn't limited to only those who can afford it

The future can be bright -- we've got work to do ✨
#startups #innovation #Oxford

Super shout out to our winners: Caleb Anderson-de Waal Daniel van Zyl Qusai Hammouri
And all those who participated: Sunday Nwovu Promise Amaechi Aimee Clesi
Nick Allard Syed Hasnain Akber Daria Sinyagovskaya, Ph.D.

Just like Technology, Optimism is a double-edge sword ⚔️

It can be a way to summarize my two-day experience in Oxford at the invitation of the Rhodes Trust for the third edition of the "Technology and Society Forum"

For once, I'm not going to comment on my speech in any great detail, other than to mention that it was a fruitful conversation: alongside Heba Chehade who mentionned "how technology is shaking our sense of purpose", Maya Van Leemput reminding us that "the future has to be co-created" relying also on the power of imagination. On my side, I underlined that we are "doomed to optimism" in reference to the Stockdale paradox (and this post title).

A few words about this experience, however, starting with the Rhodes Trust, which is both a very old student sponsorship program – over 120 years old – but incredibly contemporary (even more so with recent events) in bringing together profiles from very diverse origins and geographies.
I also admire the way in which this institution has been able to perpetuate this tradition of excellence while, at the same time, becoming even more open and lucid reflecting on the past's controversies and its legacy for the future.
lnkd.in/diB2K8f7

Diversity was a big asset of this third forum's edition, bridging people with diverse backgrounds from academics, NGOs, to private sectors and even entrepreneurs [another french word beyond 'prospective' ;-)]
Special mention to Qusai the most inclusive 🐻 doctor, also winner of the innovation challenge with www.mdus.ai/

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Big thanks to Georgie x Sorina for the invite and the perfect organisation.

📽️ replay: lnkd.in/dcpgx2ax

#TechAndSociety2024