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Month: August 2019

AI Evolution: How Wakanda’s Golden City Inspires Innovation

Have you ever imagined a place where technology and nature work in harmony for the flourishing of life? Somebody did. In a blog last year, I explored how the Black Panther represented a Decolonial African futurist vision. Today, inspired on a recent podcast I heard, I want to write about how this vision worked itself out in Wakanda’s Golden City.

Before, diving into Wakanda, let me first put a plug for the Technopolis Podcast from Citylab. It is on my short list of subscribed podcasts for a reason. It explores the intersection of technology in city planning in a thought provoking way. I recommend it to anyone looking for some meaty conversations on the topic.

Designing a Futuristic City

The Podcast recently had Hannah Beachler as a guest to discuss the work she did as a the production designer for the Black Panther movie. More specifically, she was there to discuss the meticulous work that went into designing, building and filming the Golden City – Wakanda’s capital. Just so you have an idea, Hanna put together a 500 page book for the production plan! As she described to the hosts, Hanna put in many hours studying, researching and speaking to experts in urban planning and sustainability.

Though this was mostly a background to the feature film, the production team asked serious design questions such as “How do people move in the city?”; “How can it incorporate technology while also respecting nature?”; “How can it portray the best of African culture from the present?” These poignant inquiries guided the creative process that led to a visual feast for the movie watcher.

The author sought inspiration from architecture, culture and futuristic thinking. Part of the challenge was creating a futuristic vision that happens in the present day. That is, the innovations showcased had to be recognizable and believable in what is available to us today since the story takes place in the present.

For example, one of the discussions were around having self-driving cars. In that debate, the importance of the bus driver in both African and African-American culture won out over techno-centric futuristic view. This kind of design thinking permeated throughout. Instead of flyinng cars, the Golden city had buses and trains. Instead of concrete jungle, the city had dirt roads with vegetation.

The vision was to portray technology not as an end in itself but as a complement to nature in service of people. Instead of destroy and replace mentality that often dominates city planning, the designer opted for how can existing structures evolve. Such direction balanced reverence for nature and tradition while also fostering ground-breaking innovations. For example, one of the sidewalks in the city harnessed foot traffic to power buildings. I would love to have one of those in my neighborhood!

From Creative Destruction to Evolution

The idea of evolving rather than replacing was a key insight from the conversation, especially as it relates to technology. One of the downsides of current technological innovation is its tendency to impose pre-conceived conditions for its flourishing. This is not limited to buildings but manifests itself especially in the many devices that currently proliferate globally.

For example, most electronics are built to be used in climatized rooms. Only now, with the emergence of smart phones and light laptops, this paradigm started to break. I rarely thought about this until I visited Brazil in May. Unlike here where all buildings are closed off, climatized enclosures, buildings in Brazil often lack AC or heat. Instead they keep its windows open 24/7. Hence, when I went to visit the IT team of the town’s university, I noticed they had to be enclosed in a special room with no windows that had AC running around the clock. In order to accommodate computers need for refrigeration, existing structures had to be completely retrofitted greatly increasing the cost and accessibility of computers in the town.

The idea of a technology that evolves challenges this pre-conceived notion. It starts by looking at what is currently available and then seeks to improve it for the flourishing of life. While respecting the environment, it also rejects luddite notions that all technology is destructive to nature. Instead it believes that technology can emerge from nature.

The picture that encapsulates this well is the idea of hover buses on top of dirt roads as portrayed in the golden city. You have a high-tech form of mobility moving across natural paths that can absorb water, grow beautiful vegetation while still serving as roads. This is a great example for a vision of life-affirming, environmentally conscious and cultural sensitive technology. A futuristic vision we can all adopt for our time.

Lessons from Wakanda for AI

As I reflect on this podcast, I consider ways in which AI can enable such evolution mentality when building innovation. One of the greatest strengths of AI system is its ability to learn from data. As our capability to capture, aggregate and process data improves with the advent of IOT (Internet of Things), AI systems can be a key tool in the planning for the future of cities, communities and even whole regions.

Yet, the idea that AI systems as a silver bullet is rather false. That is, simply learning from data is not enough. For an evolution vision to take hold, what you need are visionary humans who can point these AI systems towards new paradigms. They need to guide the process of data collection, processing and learning. They should also steward well the optimization functions towards life-flourishing goals.

Hence, the main lesson Wakanda offers is not technological per say but cultural. Black Panther illustrates the power of culturally-informed futuristic dreaming. When a historically ostracized people group decides to dream an alternative future without forgetting its past, a beautiful result can emerge. In being faithful to their own culture, they offer a lesson to all cultures. The main point is not the technology but whose vision it reflects.

This only reinforces the need for further democratizing technical knowledge. Developing technology cannot remain the job of a select few but belongs to all humanity. As we work to remove the barriers of entry we also foster innovation by bringing new voices to the table. May the Golden City be the first of many examples of a life-affirming, culturally sensitive, environmentally enhancing technological dream.

AI Theology goes to the Space Center in Huntsville, AL

Over a week ago, we celebrated 50 years since humanity first stepped in the moon. To celebrate this monumental achievement of the moon landing and also to spark interest in the sciences in my children, we took a road trip with some friends to Alabama. There we visited the Space Center where they originally built rockets for NASA. The center currently houses an authentic Saturn V rockets that launched the Apollo program astronauts to the moon.

That’s my over-enthusiastic selfie taken in front of the Saturn V rocket. The Rocket was so massive that it was really hard to capture in one picture.

Before sharing my reflections, let me first put a plug for this place. As a parent of young children, the visit was a success at all counts. My kids were engaged, entertained and educated all at once. The place surpassed my expectations while also being relatively affordable ($25 adults/ $14 child for admission. There is an additional cost for movies and the planetarium). The combination of amusement park rides, educational expositions, VR attractions and planetarium made it for a rich and entertaining experience. Can you see that excitement in my face? That was real.

Sophia and Anna, aspiring astronauts, hanging out at the capsule simulator

The visit was a trip on history lane, back to the twentieth century when the United States competed and won the space race against the USSR. While the backdrop of the Cold War loomed large, the story of the space race transcends nationalistic sentiments. At the center of it, it is a celebration of how 400,000 people worked together for a few decades to put a person in the moon and bring them back safely. As we just celebrated 50 years since the Apollo mission moon landing, its story reminds us of the potential of humanity when working together towards a common goal.

Levi and his proud dad riding the lunar rover

A Herculean Effort

We often forget the amount of effort, preparation, risk and courage it took to pull this off. In the center, we get to see the real size of the Saturn rocket, the same model that took astronauts to the moon. The three stage rocket is simply massive. The majority of its body is simply there to carry fuel so that the small capsule on top of it can overcome the extraordinary power of Earth’s gravitational force.

It was also striking to learn about the onboard computer that navigated the rocket. It was state-of-the are technology even if its memory and processing power is only a fraction of today’s smartphones. Somehow, even with those constraints, they were able to develop a navigational system that could not only steer the rocket to its destination but also greatly aid the astronauts at the crucial moment of landing in the moon.

The moon landing story reminded me of a time where technology’s aims were more noble and more daring than today’s. It is ironic that 50 years later, with all the advances we have made, nothing still compares to the feat of leaving Earth’s atmosphere. While it is encouraging to learn about the recent efforts on commercial space flight and the budding space programs of emerging powers like China and India, nothing really compares to the tremendous advance the Apollo program accomplished in the 60’s.

The competitiveness of the Cold War has long been replaced by the international cooperation of the last decades. The International Space Station testifies that space exploration is no longer the job for a nation alone but one that belongs to humanity. Even so, the challenges to deep space travel and Mars colonization loom large in the horizon. It will take multiple moon-shot style efforts for us to get there.

A Crisis of Imagination?

While finance, logistical and natural challenges persist, I wonder whether the biggest hurdle is the lack of interest. Space exploration no longer holds the imagination of our generation. We are too preoccupied with the latest absurd tweets staring down at our phones that we forgot to look up to the sky. What would be for us to dream of space exploration again?

I’ve been recently digging into Teilhard de Chardin’s theological writings. If it could be summarized in one statement it would be: faith in God and faith in the world. Today, both faiths are challenged. We not only wonder about a transcendent God but also whether we can live on to perpetuate our kind. Can we take care of this earth or are we destined to see it squandered by our greed? Can we learn to love each other or will we always be susceptible to the smallness of nationalistic and racial projects? Can we develop technology that foster the flourishing of life on this planet and beyond or is it all a game to perpetuate wealth accumulation?

Above all, I leave the Space center yearning to believe in humanity again. For if we are able to fly to the moon why can we not do amazing things here on Earth?