To survive in tomorrow's world, we must teach computer studies

Safaricom PLC Trade Marketing support agent Charles Owuor interacts with Eldrod Zawadi a pupil at Moody Awori primary school, Busia County during the handover of computers through the Safaricom Foundation’s Ndoto Zetu initiative. [James Wanzala,Standard]

When in 2018, Bill Gates advised that ‘eliminating diseases and causes of poverty would require scientific discovery and technology-based innovations’ little did we know that in 2020, synthetic messenger RNA technology would be the answer to the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccines came fast and humanity was saved.

Social media has created an air of overnight fame courtesy of Apps like: TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, etc that allow real-time networking or livestreaming, tweeting, viewing, sharing or following. Consequently, we all have a voice; one that has been amplified digitally. 

Across the world, countries are racing to lead the way in the technologies of tomorrow and are investing in Data Security, Advanced AI, Blockchain, Distributed Computing, Metaverse, Memristors, Nanotechnologies, Sensors, Genomics and others.

The advent of the online gig economy, writings and digital communications, in which events are stream-lived and made interactive, point to an opportunity that only require us to seize. To paraphrase the words of former US President JFK, as a country, ‘we are behind, and will be behind for some time as technology has advanced. But we should not intend to stay behind.’

Predictions are that by 2025, 90 per cent of the world will have smartphones and regular access to the internet in addition to half of the global businesses incorporating artificial intelligence into their operations and having an all-time powerful internet of things.

In April, Elon Musk, bought Twitter at around $44bn, making that buyout one of the largest. His Starlink satellites, coupled with the Google Loon project, are meant to deliver faster internet everywhere, on earth. The benefits of virtual connectivity were apparent during the pandemic; when learning went virtual and families connected over the internet; hence underscored the need to invest in modern technology, that is relevant to this century.

Liberal economy

In Africa, Kenya is among the most innovative leaders of the digital space and telecoms; with a liberal economy and proudly hardworking people. In 2003, we topped the world in optimism. We can build upon these ingredients to create for the future; be a leading force in technology, power the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Technology has made everything better - from online teaching, astronomy, biotechnology, precision agriculture, vertical farming, computational modelling, tele-medicine, precision medicine to 3D manufacturing.

According to MIT Technology Review, the world’s richest and most powerful companies such as Google and Apple have made AI core parts of their business. In fact, the Big Four Tech companies survived and profited more, collectively making in excess of USD 2.5 trillion during the pandemic.

In 2021, MIT projected that the job market will expect internet fluency more than ever as more workforce go remote. In Rwanda, as well as recently experimented in Kisumu, drugs are being delivered to remote areas by drones. The trend is clear: technology is marching on. There should be no disagreement when it comes to keeping pace with technology. We are the nation of MPESA. As automation, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Quantum Computing and other technologies get embedded, employers will insist on skills we can already foresee.

Today, the most valuable and profitable company on earth, is Apple. It was worth more than Sh340 trillion in January 2022. Kenya’s budget in 2021 was around Sh3.03 trillion. It means one tech company’s worth was more than hundred times our national budget. As if that’s not enough, around the world, modern challenges cry for tech solutions: global warming or climate change; defence or cybercrime, pollution or waste management, nuclear wastes or space debris, terrorism or pandemics, intelligence or ransomware, wildfires or energy storage.

To catch-up, we should arm our children by making computer studies compulsory; in all schools–from pre-school to university. For all courses, in all institutions– public or private. Let me be clear, technology is not the only path to progress. But in this century, just no progress happens without technology. That path of tech is neither easy nor cheap. But we should take the pain to progress than more pain as the laggards of the fast-unfolding digital economy.

When we mandate the learning of religion for morals and peace; the knowledge of mathematics for numeral skills and the mastery of international languages for global commerce and diplomacy; we should also mandate technology–because; while the world of today require technology, the 5G-world of tomorrow demand technology. In a world that’s more integrated, our approach to challenges must be broad. In an era when mental health challenges are answered partly through virtual reality-aided therapy, there is no human sphere immune to technology.

Global innovators

Learning technology is stepping ahead towards middle-income economy and answering the desires of millennials and Generation Z. It is what we need and what the next president should aim at, for the youths and the future. In the words of Israel’s David Ben-Gurion, ‘It is not enough to be up-to-date; you have to be up-to-tomorrow.’ For that, our children must acquire the knowledge that make them global thinkers, global innovators and tech workers. With relevant skills, they can work for or create technology titans like Apple.

Why not broaden our bandwidth or expand connectivity to cover the entire republic? For decades, we have sustained talks on creating digital hubs, improving network reliability and setting village-level ICT centres. Well, time for talks is over. It is time for action. If we must talk, let’s discuss the challenges posed by the breadth of our expanded digital space; not infrastructural challenges. In marching on, students must learn emerging innovations. Teachers should expose learners to current trends. Governments must have the right policies and install the needed infrastructure. Professionals must lead the way in setting the standards.