Moses Namara, Ph.D.

It's such an honor to be among this year's MIT @techreview 35 Under 35 Innovators Dream big no matter how far that dream might seem! Shout out to @red_abebe ,@DanielNkemelu ,@ezinne_nwa; pretty cool to see the impact we're making via @black_in_ai technologyreview.com/innovator/mose…

Interesting contrasting perspectives on what is feasible & not feasible w/ BitChat. Both viewpoints are valid in that there are still limitations on how users envision using the app/protocol and what it can currently support. In terms of restrictions, much more challenging to do.

Today's conversations about AI-assisted programming are strikingly similar to those from decades ago about the choice between low-level languages like C versus high-level languages like Python. I was in college back then and some of our professors reassured us that the same issues had come up in the assembly-vs-compiled-languages debate from their own student days! (If I were to guess, the switch from machine code to assembly even earlier must have led to similar discussions as well.) The trade-off is always the same: productivity versus control. And the challenge is how to switch to the new paradigm in a way that enhances your skills (at least the ones you care about) instead of offloading too much and letting your skills atrophy. Some approaches prove too hasty. Vibe coding is turning out to be a dead end because it offloads too much, just as WYSIWYG editors were a dead end for building web apps. But that doesn't mean we were forced to stick to raw HTML/JS: frameworks turned out to be the way forward. When a new paradigm comes along, it takes months if not years of practice to figure out how to make it work for you. There are always many people dismissing the new thing too quickly. I was one! There are some embarrassing mailing list posts from the early 2000s in which I complained about Python and kids who can't code like real programmers do 🤦 While it's good to be open-minded, I'm not saying everyone needs to jump on the bandwagon. After all, low-level programming languages haven't gone away. Of course, some people claim that AI is unlike previous waves of automation and can replace programmers. Maybe. The reason I disagree — and see AI as parallel to previous waves of productivity improvements in software engineering — is fourfold. (1) It's a matter of accountability, not just capability. (2) Writing the code was never the bottleneck. (3) I think we're underestimating the ability of experts to stay on top of even rapid AI capability increases by using these tools to dramatically expand what they can build, how well, and how quickly. (4) As these productivity improvements take shape, the potential growth in _demand_ for software is practically infinite, unlike trades where there is a fixed amount of work that needs to get done. For example, the idea that a car would contain ~100 million lines of code would have seemed head-explodingly implausible in the early days of programming. Many people have observed that software seems to be one of the only fields that is undergoing a rapid transformation due to AI. The usual reason they give is that capability improvements in AI coding have been particularly rapid. I think this is only part of the story. The bigger factor is structural. Software has a history of repeatedly undergoing seismic shifts in the technologies of production, so it has never had time or the cultural inclination to ossify institutional processes around particular ways of doing things.

This was my response to an email that a student named Loa sent me in 2024. I followed up and exchanged a couple more messages with them. Here's my original post: x.com/JeffDean/statu…

I want to express my gratitude to everyone that uses their ingenuity to bring new things to life! #AppleEvent

Days like today are some of the most exciting moments at Apple. #AppleEvent

Call for Abstracts: AI for African Languages Conference 2025! We are excited to invite submissions for the @AfrilangAi Conference, focusing on: ✅ NLP for African languages ✅ Speech and translation ✅ LLMs & low-resource models ✅ Real-world applications & case studies Tracks: 📄 Research (2–4 pages) 📄 Industry (1–2 pages) 🗓️ Submit by: August 15, 2025 Join us in shaping the future of inclusive, impactful AI for African languages! For details, visit: lnkd.in/db2tjAMJ Questions? Reach out via afrilangai@sunbird.ai Let’s build language technology that serves everyone. #AI #NLP #AfricanLanguagesLLMs #LanguageTechnology #Innovation #Research #AIForSocialGood

The key lies in educating developers and end users on how to effectively and practically utilize AI agents to accomplish their desired objectives! It’s the wild wild west!

All systems go. Tune in to #WWDC25.

In life, we need inspirations.@ShakaSsali16222 inspired us to excel in our professions, regardless of bckground. You inspired a generation of young minds about possibilities. Listening to your voice on TV /radio for @VOAAfrica was always a moment of immense pride. Farethewell 🕊️

How can we improve our ability to name models? It’s becoming harder to distinguish models (e.g., thinking vs. reasoning) and determine which to use for tasks. As an expert, I’m curious about the situation for laypeople. Adoption becomes challenging if one can’t understand it.

Planning a watch party for the big game? Apple Invites, the new app for iPhone, can help you throw a great one! It's available from the App Store and on the web now! 🥳

Having been a reader of @davidkangye’s many online writings, I am specifically looking forward to this one. He has already established a strong rapport with his subject. I am already impressed with his work ethic, adaptability, flexibility, and attention to detail.

I got frustrated with my Uber driver because he was looking at the map on the phone down on the side. “Why don’t you fellows mount your phones on dashboard or windshield holders, it’s safer”, I said. “Sir, these mzungus made Uber for their countries. Here you put your phone on a dashboard holder, it will be snatched in five minutes”, he said. Darn!

We’re glowing with excitement! Monday, September 9. #AppleEvent

OVERHEARD: A young African activist who supports a new reform-proclaiming party led by a radical youthful politician is talking to his father, and he is frustrated that the old man is still supporting the old corrupt long-ruling regime led by a Big Man: ACTIVIST: But dad, how can you cling to a regime that you yourself agree is corrupt and is ruining the country. DAD: It all has to do with certainty, our man and his people are corrupt and incompetent, but we know how corrupt and incompetent they are. And we can see the cliff over which they are driving the country, and how deep it is. ACTIVIST: And because of that you can't take a chance on reform? DAD: We don't know whether your guy will be better or more corrupt, how he will eat, how much he will eat, whether he will be more or less competent. At my age, I can't live with that level of uncertainty. Oh, by the way, don't forget to fill out for me my high blood prescription when you come back next week, healthcare in this country has gone to the dogs. ACTIVIST: Sigh!😖

The word play here 😂

@UsherKomugisha are they ready for East Sudan 🤦‍♂️ now because South Sudan was for sure not playing around tonight 😄 SSD 100 - USA 101 🏀

Olympic debutants South Sudan 🇸🇸 - the youngest country in the world founded in 2011 have pushed the USA 🇺🇸 to the edge 101-100 in a friendly game in London ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. The Bright Stars face the USA again on July 31 in Group C.

When It Comes To Freedom of Travel In Africa By Africans, Seychelles, Benin, Gambia, Rwanda Are On Another Planet RECAP: Freedom of Africans to travel to other African countries continues to improve, with data from last year finding that the continent’s average visa openness score is higher than ever before, says the AfDB’s annual Africa Visa Openness Report. Today, 42 countries offer visa-free travel to the citizens of at least five other countries, and more countries reciprocate visa-free travel privileges than at any previous time. More progress still needs to be made, but four countries - SEYCHELLES, BENIN, THE GAMBIA, and RWANDA - are on another planet, with ALL Africans being able to enter without a visa as long as they hold a valid travel document. For 28% of intra-Africa travel, Africans do not need a visa (up from 27% in 2022 and 20% in 2016), the report says. For 26% of intra-Africa travel, Africans can obtain a visa on arrival (down from 27% in 2022, up from 25% in 2016). For 46% of intra-Africa travel, Africans still need a visa before travelling (down from 47% in 2022 and 55% in 2016). afdb.org/en/news-and-ev…

Africa's coming Gen Z revolution: You can’t imprison minds of people who carry own beds, cement, and charcoal to school theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/oped/comme…