“Whenever I visit Silicon Valley, I’m always left in awe at the number of black engineers and scientists working on the cutting edge of the most advanced technologies. Being also on an advisory board of Stanford University, I have the privilege to meet several in academia as well.” Strive Masiyiwa writes

A business leader and philanthropist working at the intersection of technology and transformational change, Strive Masiyiwa is the founder and executive chairman of Econet, and one of the early pioneers of the mobile telecoms industry in Africa.

“Without a doubt, one of the most senior black guys working in Silicon Valley is James Manyika who is Senior Vice President of Research, Technology, and Society at Google. He reports directly to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet.”

Working for decades to connect people and businesses across the content, he continues to lead initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, education, and social and economic development across Africa.

“James very recently asked me to sit down for a chat for his Technology and Society podcast series to discuss Africa and Artificial Intelligence [AI]. Our conversation was just released a couple of days ago. I am sure most of you will be interested to listen.”

In this episode, he sits down with James Manyika, Google’s SVP of Research, Technology & Society, to discuss what we can learn from Africa’s mobile revolution, AI’s potential for positive impact on economic opportunity in Africa, and society’s collective responsibility to ensure everyone can benefit. [Google]

“I have known James for a very long time and we’ve actually been discussing AI and future technologies for decades. Even before I met him personally I knew of him as this amazingly brilliant engineer who studied electrical engineering at the University of Zimbabwe [same time as my wife] and went on to do two Master’s degrees and a PhD in AI and Robotics at the University of Oxford before making his way to Silicon Valley.”

“He’s now recognised as a global expert in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence and even serves as vice chair of a special US national advisory committee on AI.”

“After you have listened to our conversation, please share your views here… You never know what a “profitable moment” this could be for you, as CNN’s Richard Quest loves to say!” Strive concluded