The last few weeks are proving to be a buffet of technologi- cal news for geeks to feast on.
There was news from CPUT about its solar-powered car that will be participating in a race from Pretoria to Cape Town this coming weekend.
Vehicles from all over the world are participating, including cars that have been 3D printed.
CPUT’s car, named Solar Flyer, is hoping to take top honours against 20 other teams from around the world.
Last week also saw both the first Artificial Intelligence Expo Africa as well as the Deep Learning Indaba taking place in the city.
Together these two events are the cornerstones of computers of the very-near future.
An example of that future is visiting the Mother City this week.
South Africa’s first humanoid robot, Pepper, is on her second visit to Cape Town.
While she is a pre-programmable service robot, she offers us a peak into a future where most things will be done by robots just like her.
And that future is not as far off as you may think.
Then there was the announcement by our favourite eccentric, billionaire expat Elon Musk, that he is planning to blast a civilian into space and send them on a whirlwind orbit around the moon, before landing them safely back on earth.
So why am I telling you all of this?
Mostly, it is hopefully to prove to you that technology is something you will not be able to ignore for very long.
And also to encourage you to future-proof yourself and your children as a matter of urgency.
Africa almost always gets left behind when new technologies emerge and we end up being only the consumers, but never benefitting with the big bucks of manufacturing.
I keep a close eye on local technology and there’s a lot of talent here.
But there are still many people who don’t even know how to download an app, or change the ringtone on their phones.
Please don’t get left behind.
If any of the terms I used above confuse you, or if you’re not sure you understand what it is, then it’s time to educate yourself.
What I learned at the AI Expo is that Africa is in a strong position to lead this field in future.
Ideally I would like to see as many of us as possible playing an active role in that progress. Cape Town is at the moment the technology leader on the African continent and it’s time you take advantage of it.
Start by understanding all the technology around you; read up on things like 3D Printing, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Most importantly, spend some time and money on learning coding.
I can’t emphasise this enough.
If you are under 35 and you are not learning how to programme computers, then you are going to be left behind very soon, because every single industry is going to be impacted by some form of technology.
Lastly, take heed from another tech story from just a few days ago involving the man who came up with the idea of “please call me”.
Vodacom didn’t want to pay Kenneth Makate for the idea, so he took it all the way to the Constitutional Court, which ruled in his favour.
The problem is, he had to rely on massive loans to fight his legal battles and those people now want 50% of his Vodacom pay out.
Long story short, you could be sitting on the next great tech idea.
You have the world as a market place and it’s almost certain that many thousands of people across the world will buy your service.
By being able to code, you can do it yourself and avoid missing out, or being stabbed in the back by a big corporate with deep pockets.