Ahead of the forthcoming Singularity Summit, I recently sat down with Mic Mann, the co-ceo of Singularity South Africa, to discuss exponential technologies, how people and business can better contend with the massive change that Agentic AI is bringing, and some of the highlights of the forthcoming Singularity Summit.  

Mann began by noting that he believes that amid the exponential technologies such as biotechnology, blockchain and robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) is the ‘’most extraordinary exponential technology’’ because with it, we are essentially recreating human intelligence. This, he noted, hasn’t happened before.

Additionally, AI is a unique technology as it also acts as a catalyst for other technologies to expand at an increased pace, impacting on the likes of cybersecurity and enabling medical advances.

Rather than functioning in a silo, like cloud computing or other emerging technologies that were largely contained within their own industries, AI is impacting across a broad spectrum of industries, and changing far more than the technological sphere.  

‘’What we've seen from these large language models in the last two years in just the how quickly they've developed, has been extraordinary, because they have progressed from being fairly basic to now handling full operating systems of people's lives and careers,’’ he elaborated.

Agentic AI explained

As well, there is agentic AI, a concept that might still sound too nebulous or esoteric to fully grasp what it portends. But Mann explains that agentic AR goes beyond just helping draft emails or write documents, likening it to giving the keys to your office to AI, and allowing an AI technologies to run one’s the entirety of one’s office.

‘’This means that agentic AI allows you to be 1 000 times more productive in your business if you use it correctly. You can now essentially take advantage of an ‘army’ of intelligent agents that can work for you,’’ he explained. In a way, it means that every person can have their own workforce, and become their own company, without having to hire scores of employees.   

This might sound like science fiction, or something for someday in the future. However, Mann continued that this reality is here now, with some businesses in China already deploying scores of AI agents that run various elements of financial transactions, fraud detection and security.

‘’And this is just the beginning of this agentic era. I think we're going to have hundreds of millions of these AI agents working for everybody and helping everybody be a lot more productive in their businesses and it's actually going to reinvent the way we do business,’ he enthused.

Innovation on steroids

But it is not just the technology itself that is potentially revolutionary, it is the accelerated pace of their proliferation and adoption.

Mann pointed that that one of the defining characteristics of an exponential technology is that their growth is deceptive in the beginning, then they hit a surge, and quicker than expected, disrupt the status quo. He explained that for this reason exponential growth tends to catch people by surprise; it's always slow at first and then suddenly there is this rapid takeoff.

‘’We've been talking about AI for 10 years at Singularity South Africa, and only in the last three years since the large language models came out has everyone sort of woken up to the fact that Ray Kurzweil's predictions are correct, and all of these ideas about AR reaching human level intelligence by 2029 is pretty on track,’’ he noted.  

Pace of Change

But exponential change is no longer a lofty theory or principle, excitedly discussed at conferences - the acceleration is evident. For example, Mann points out that previously, large language models (LLMs) previously received an update every six to eight months. That became three months, and shortened further to today, where LLMs release a new version every few weeks. And with each version comes new capabilities, new opportunities, and new consequences of the technology to get to grips with.  

The question that arises though, is whether people are able to process this quick and sudden change, cope with its acceleration and adapt accordingly.

Mann stressed that one of the most important things we need to do as a society is create awareness, be open to learning and be curious as we engage with these tools.

His view though, is that shying away from AI tools is not the wisest path.

‘’Being fearful of AI tools rather than curious about them can produce a danger of being left behind, and there is a real danger of it creating a gap between those who know how to use AI and those who don’t,” he warned.

‘’The bottom line is, if you're avoiding getting to grips with AI at all, then somebody else in your industry and working environment is going to be faster, more productive and more relevant than you are,’’ he asserted.

The Imperative of Learning

The remedy to this potential digital AI divide though is to create more awareness and education, so that people can more readily upskill themselves and become AI-fluent.

For those who have not yet begun experimenting with AI, Mann believes the upcoming Singularity Summit in October offers an accessible entry point, as well as being an event that will cater to those who are already engaging AI and using it to transform how they work.  

The goal, he said, is not simply to observe AI from a distance, but to become part of a community focused on using it to create a positive impact.

Whether someone attends the summit or not, he encouraged individuals, employees, founders and business leaders to explore how AI can improve their systems, strengthen their work and help reinvent outdated processes.

Mann enthused that the Summit’s digital twin in the metaverse gives remote attendees a rich way to participate.  This enables international participants, or those outside of Johannesburg, to watch keynotes, join Q&A sessions with speakers, interact with others in the metaverse and take part in entertainment such as AI hosts and an AI DJ.

He added that the experience is also useful for in-person attendees who need to leave the venue but want to continue following the programme from their devices and from the comfort of their homes. As he sees it, exploring these immersive spaces offers a head start as the internet shifts from a two-dimensional experience to a more interactive 3D environment.

Summit Highlights

Despite running the Summit for several years now, Mann’s enthusiasm for it hasn’t waned.

‘’We've got incredible change makers who are going to share their ideas, their knowledge, their experiences on how you actually bring that into your own life, your own organization, and our South African society, so that we can future-proof Africa.

And we've got incredible speakers looking at how do you embrace artificial intelligence and use agentic AI? How do you build your own operating systems? Or get ahead of the curve with regards to the future of robotics?’’ he enthused. These questions are what this year’s Summit will address.   

As with previous summits, leadership, and how to be a great leader in a company on the cutting edge of exponential change, is going to be one of the focuses, with David Roberts returning to dive more deeply into disruption tactics.

Another highlight of this year’s summit is a deep dive into human potential, with Brandon Birchak coming this year to demonstrate how people can grow their lung capacity.

The most exciting time to be alive

Despite the turmoil and the questions and concerns, not to mention uncertainty, that exponential change brings, Mann is an optimist about the future.

‘’I think we're living in this most exciting time to be alive. You know, I tell my daughter every day, you're so lucky because you're going to experience these magical things that we never got to experience as kids, and you're growing up natively with artificial intelligence, robotics and 3D printing and blockchain technology, which are really going to change the current world that we as we know it.

 ‘’Everyone who's around now is living in this incredible time where we're going to see more change in the next five years than in the last 100 years, which is pretty phenomenal to think about. So I would strap in, sit back, and enjoy the ride,’’ he concluded.

Those keen on learning more about the Singularity Summit, or taking advantage of the current special before the ticket price increases, can secure their spot here.