Humanities - African Tech Roundup

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Humanities

A collection of 11 posts

OP-ED - Rug tape versus immortality. Shaking a fist at death, sensibly.

Health Economics

OP-ED - Rug tape versus immortality. Shaking a fist at death, sensibly.

Bryan Johnson's incurable disease diagnosis triggered global glee. Meanwhile, the actuaries quantifying longer lives have landed on a $5.8 trillion case for grab bars, walking and hearing aids. Who gets to age well, and what does it actually cost?

OP-ED - Who gets to belong? Narrative, power, and community at Katapult Future Fest 2026

Digital Transformation

OP-ED - Who gets to belong? Narrative, power, and community at Katapult Future Fest 2026

Tayo Akinyemi reports from Katapult Future Fest 2026 on narrative, belonging, and the boundaries of communities seeking to reshape how capital and technology serve people—previewing Capital for Infrastructure, her forthcoming project with Osarumen Osamuyi.

OP-ED - What really happens between "send" and "received"

Market Intelligence

OP-ED - What really happens between "send" and "received"

A Nigerian software engineer on currency volatility, rate buffers, and why transparency beats the "zero fees" promise every time.

OP-ED - X marks the spot: your platform is someone else's country

OP-ED - X marks the spot: your platform is someone else's country

Open-sourcing a candid disagreement with Future in the Humanities (FITH) Founding Chair Prof Iginio Gagliardone about Mastodon and X. What are the tradeoffs of building an African intellectual project on platforms that might extract more than they give?

OP-ED - The mine, the machine, and the intern

Digital Transformation

OP-ED - The mine, the machine, and the intern

From post-WW2 coal mines to modern codebases, history suggests AI transformation will rise or fall not on technical capability alone, but on whether organisations deliberately redesign the social systems that surround the machine.

OP-ED - How solo sailors sleep

Artificial Intelligence

OP-ED - How solo sailors sleep

Solo sailors don't forecast the ocean. They set an alarm and pay attention. In the age of AI disruption, that pragmatic sensibility turns out to be rarer and more valuable than anyone is admitting.

OP-ED - What do SAG Ventures and Balloon Ventures have in common? The intermediary trap

Market Intelligence

OP-ED - What do SAG Ventures and Balloon Ventures have in common? The intermediary trap

Prince Nwadeyi's published research and Joshua Bicknell's operational experience expose the same problem: entrenched incentive structures don't serve those closest to real economic activity.

POD - Future in the Humanities EP 3/3: The Gig Economy's Hidden Costs

POD - Future in the Humanities EP 3/3: The Gig Economy's Hidden Costs

Wits University social scientist and researcher Fikile Masikane exposes harsh realities behind promises of entrepreneurial freedom for food delivery drivers in South Africa.

POD - Future in the Humanities EP 1/3: Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Human Connection

POD - Future in the Humanities EP 1/3: Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Human Connection

Wits University researchers Sahba Besharati and Victoria Williams discuss cultural perceptions of contact, pandemic-induced changes and the long-term effects on social relationships and mental health.