![MOBILIZING AI'S INFANTRY](https://cdn.magzter.com/1356730856/1684845476/articles/Pl4B1HKvS1686229828196/MOBILIZING-AIS-INFANTRY.jpg)
In 2018, on a trip to his ancestral homeland, Alexandr Wang listened as China's brightest engineers gave impressive presentations on artificial intelligence. He found it odd that the researchers conspicuously avoided any mention of how AI might be used. Wang, whose immigrant parents were nuclear physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the first atomic bombs were designed, was unsettled.
"They were really dodgy on what the use cases were. You could tell it was for no good," recalls Wang, the cofounder of Scale AI, who has no "e" in his first name so that it has eight characters, a number associated with good fortune in Chinese culture. Scale was then an up-and-coming startup providing data services primarily to self-driving automakers. But Wang began to worry that AI might soon upend a world order that, excepting the fall of the Soviet Union, has remained mostly stable since World War II. "If you think about the history of humanity, it's mostly been punctuated by war except the last 80 or so years, which have been unusually peaceful," he says from Scale's sixth-floor headquarters in downtown San Francisco, as the occasional (partly) self-driving car zips by below. "A lot of that has been because of American leadership in the world."
At first glance, Wang, 26, exudes the skittish energy of a fresh college graduate. He listens to "sad girl" musicians like Gracie Abrams and Billie Eilish and dresses "gorpcore," an in-vogue style of fashionable hiking clothes. He posts Instagram photos with actor Kiernan Shipka of Mad Men fame and spouts pithy nuggets on Twitter: "The best problems can only be solved by blood, sweat, tears, spirit and an overwhelming sense of purpose," he wrote in one February tweet. At bars, he still gets carded regularly.
This story is from the June - July 2023 edition of Forbes Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June - July 2023 edition of Forbes Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![THE FOOTBALL CLUB ON THE RISE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/_JAVmJ4HR1719486162661/THE-FOOTBALL-CLUB-ON-THE-RISE.jpg)
THE FOOTBALL CLUB ON THE RISE
STELLENBOSCH FC'S JUNIOR SIDES ARE CONSISTENTLY AMONG THE BEST IN SOUTH AFRICA.
![AFTER SOLAR, COMES LEAD.BUT WHERE'S THE BIN?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/zWb-K6cvW1719486016224/AFTER-SOLAR-COMES-LEADBUT-WHERES-THE-BIN.jpg)
AFTER SOLAR, COMES LEAD.BUT WHERE'S THE BIN?
THE TIME TO PLAN FOR THE SUDDEN INFLUX OF AGED AND DATED SOLAR MATERIALS IS NOW - AFRICA CAN'T AFFORD TO BECOME A TOXIC DUMPING GROUND FOR THE E-WASTE DETRITUS LEFT BEHIND BY SOLAR.
![EMMA CHAMBERLAIN'S GREAT AWAKENING](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/znp9tLi_-1719485822193/EMMA-CHAMBERLAINS-GREAT-AWAKENING.jpg)
EMMA CHAMBERLAIN'S GREAT AWAKENING
THE 22-YEAR-OLD YOUTUBE SENSATION EARNED AN ESTIMATED $20 MILLION LAST YEAR WHILE BUILDING HER EPONYMOUS COFFEE BRAND. MEET THE CREATOR WHO'S FULL OF BEANS.
![THE FORTUNE OF FORESIGHT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/fV2Hq_SiL1719485582171/THE-FORTUNE-OF-FORESIGHT.jpg)
THE FORTUNE OF FORESIGHT
NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITIES OF OUR FUTURE IS BIG BUSINESS - AND BIG MONEY. HERE ARE SOME OF THE MORE EMINENT GLOBAL FUTURISTS OFFERING FRESH INSIGHTS INTO FUTURE TECH AND A BETTER TOMORROW.
![6 YEARS TO THE SDCS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/SjveB_-Nz1719485030026/6-YEARS-TO-THE-SDCS.jpg)
6 YEARS TO THE SDCS
CHASING THE WORLD THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, AFRICA'S PROGRESS AND RACE TO THE 2030 GOALS.
![PURPOSE-DRIVEN & PROUDLY AFRICAN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/HzlFbWY-k1719481741223/PURPOSEDRIVEN-PROUDLY-AFRICAN.jpg)
PURPOSE-DRIVEN & PROUDLY AFRICAN
FROM FINTECH TO FOODTECH SOLUTIONS; FROM BEAUTY BRANDS TO BIOTECH INFUSIONS, FORBES AFRICA'S INAUGURAL LIST OF SMALL GIANTS ACROSS AFRICA SHOWCASES THE TENACITY OF HOMEGROWN BUSINESSES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE. THEIR PAN-AFRICAN CEOFOUNDERS AND LEADERS ARE MAKING GIANT STRIDES IN PROGRESSING AFRICA'S GROWTH NARRATIVE, PRIORITIZING IMPACT AND INNOVATION.
![AT THE INTERSECTION OF CULTURES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/Ookc3UZKx1719483641322/AT-THE-INTERSECTION-OF-CULTURES.jpg)
AT THE INTERSECTION OF CULTURES
DIBAKAR DAS ROY EXPLORES SENSITIVE ISSUES OF RACE, COLOR AND IDENTITY IN HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM SET IN NEW DELHI STARRING NIGERIAN ACTOR SAMUEL ABIOLA ROBINSON.
![THOSE LIKELY TO TAKE THE TOP PLACES ON THE PODIUM IN PARIS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/tJypNpkX71719483007640/THOSE-LIKELY-TO-TAKE-THE-TOP-PLACES-ON-THE-PODIUM-IN-PARIS.jpg)
THOSE LIKELY TO TAKE THE TOP PLACES ON THE PODIUM IN PARIS
AFRICA'S MEDAL HOPEFULS AT THE 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES.
![PRICEY PRIDE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/zKUNHwUHT1719482774083/PRICEY-PRIDE.jpg)
PRICEY PRIDE
AFRICA TOO CAN PROUDLY CLAIM TO BE A SOURCE OF CAVIAR, ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST INDULGENCES. BEING FARMED IN THE FAVORABLE CLIMATE AND TERROIR OF MADAGASCAR ARE SOME VERY EXPENSIVE FISH EGGS A FIRST FOR THE CONTINENT.
![TIME TO HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2171/1721928/dhMQW5XjY1719482549110/TIME-TO-HIT-THE-PAUSE-BUTTON.jpg)
TIME TO HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON
EXPERT INSIGHTS INTO HOW WE ARE SURROUNDED BY NOISE 24/7/365 AND IT'S AFFECTING OUR ABILITY TO THINK CLEARLY AND MANAGE STRESS LEVELS, OFTEN LEADING TO EXPENSIVE MISTAKES, AT WORK AND IN LIFE.