Have you ever imagined a place where technology and nature work in harmony for the flourishing of life? Somebody did. In a blog last year, I explored how the Black Panther represented a Decolonial African futurist vision. Today, inspired on a recent podcast I heard, I want to write about how this vision worked itself out in Wakanda’s Golden City.
Before, diving into Wakanda, let me first put a plug for the Technopolis Podcast from Citylab. It is on my short list of subscribed podcasts for a reason. It explores the intersection of technology in city planning in a thought provoking way. I recommend it to anyone looking for some meaty conversations on the topic.
Designing a Futuristic City
The Podcast recently had Hannah Beachler as a guest to discuss the work she did as a the production designer for the Black Panther movie. More specifically, she was there to discuss the meticulous work that went into designing, building and filming the Golden City – Wakanda’s capital. Just so you have an idea, Hanna put together a 500 page book for the production plan! As she described to the hosts, Hanna put in many hours studying, researching and speaking to experts in urban planning and sustainability.
Though this was mostly a background to the feature film, the production team asked serious design questions such as “How do people move in the city?”; “How can it incorporate technology while also respecting nature?”; “How can it portray the best of African culture from the present?” These poignant inquiries guided the creative process that led to a visual feast for the movie watcher.
The author sought inspiration from architecture, culture and futuristic thinking. Part of the challenge was creating a futuristic vision that happens in the present day. That is, the innovations showcased had to be recognizable and believable in what is available to us today since the story takes place in the present.
For example, one of the discussions were around having self-driving cars. In that debate, the importance of the bus driver in both African and African-American culture won out over techno-centric futuristic view. This kind of design thinking permeated throughout. Instead of flyinng cars, the Golden city had buses and trains. Instead of concrete jungle, the city had dirt roads with vegetation.
The vision was to portray technology not as an end in itself but as a complement to nature in service of people. Instead of destroy and replace mentality that often dominates city planning, the designer opted for how can existing structures evolve. Such direction balanced reverence for nature and tradition while also fostering ground-breaking innovations. For example, one of the sidewalks in the city harnessed foot traffic to power buildings. I would love to have one of those in my neighborhood!
From Creative Destruction to Evolution
The idea of evolving rather than replacing was a key insight from the conversation, especially as it relates to technology. One of the downsides of current technological innovation is its tendency to impose pre-conceived conditions for its flourishing. This is not limited to buildings but manifests itself especially in the many devices that currently proliferate globally.
For example, most electronics are built to be used in climatized rooms. Only now, with the emergence of smart phones and light laptops, this paradigm started to break. I rarely thought about this until I visited Brazil in May. Unlike here where all buildings are closed off, climatized enclosures, buildings in Brazil often lack AC or heat. Instead they keep its windows open 24/7. Hence, when I went to visit the IT team of the town’s university, I noticed they had to be enclosed in a special room with no windows that had AC running around the clock. In order to accommodate computers need for refrigeration, existing structures had to be completely retrofitted greatly increasing the cost and accessibility of computers in the town.
The idea of a technology that evolves challenges this pre-conceived notion. It starts by looking at what is currently available and then seeks to improve it for the flourishing of life. While respecting the environment, it also rejects luddite notions that all technology is destructive to nature. Instead it believes that technology can emerge from nature.
The picture that encapsulates this well is the idea of hover buses on top of dirt roads as portrayed in the golden city. You have a high-tech form of mobility moving across natural paths that can absorb water, grow beautiful vegetation while still serving as roads. This is a great example for a vision of life-affirming, environmentally conscious and cultural sensitive technology. A futuristic vision we can all adopt for our time.
Lessons from Wakanda for AI
As I reflect on this podcast, I consider ways in which AI can enable such evolution mentality when building innovation. One of the greatest strengths of AI system is its ability to learn from data. As our capability to capture, aggregate and process data improves with the advent of IOT (Internet of Things), AI systems can be a key tool in the planning for the future of cities, communities and even whole regions.
Yet, the idea that AI systems as a silver bullet is rather false. That is, simply learning from data is not enough. For an evolution vision to take hold, what you need are visionary humans who can point these AI systems towards new paradigms. They need to guide the process of data collection, processing and learning. They should also steward well the optimization functions towards life-flourishing goals.
Hence, the main lesson Wakanda offers is not technological per say but cultural. Black Panther illustrates the power of culturally-informed futuristic dreaming. When a historically ostracized people group decides to dream an alternative future without forgetting its past, a beautiful result can emerge. In being faithful to their own culture, they offer a lesson to all cultures. The main point is not the technology but whose vision it reflects.
This only reinforces the need for further democratizing technical knowledge. Developing technology cannot remain the job of a select few but belongs to all humanity. As we work to remove the barriers of entry we also foster innovation by bringing new voices to the table. May the Golden City be the first of many examples of a life-affirming, culturally sensitive, environmentally enhancing technological dream.
