“Artificial intelligence has crossed a critical threshold. For the first time in history, our tools are learning to improve themselves.
This moment marks the dawn of what experts call superintelligence, the machine learning capabilities that could one day surpass human performance in nearly every domain” comments Daniel Novitzkas, chairman of Specno, Africa’s leading digital innovation agency.
According to Novitzkas, the question is no longer if this future will arrive, but what form it will take, and who it will serve.
“If superintelligence is centralised in the hands of governments and global corporations, human agency will shrink. We risk becoming passive consumers in a system designed for profit and control. But if we build AI as personal superintelligence – or PSI – we can unlock a future that multiplies human potential rather than diminish it,” argues Novitzkas.
Centralised AI, he explains, risks entrenching monopolies of information, wealth, and power. The alternative – personal superintelligence – offers a decentralised system that belongs to individuals and is tailored to their unique goals, values, and strengths. Rather than dissolving individuality in the pursuit of efficiency, PSI would magnify diversity, giving people the tools to learn, create, and innovate on their own terms.
“The potential applications of PSI are vast. A student struggling with dyslexia could learn through an AI tutor designed precisely for their cognitive style.
A farmer in Limpopo could receive real-time, personalised guidance on soil health and weather conditions. A young musician could collaborate with an AI attuned to their creative rhythm, while a personalised health coach could continuously monitor biometrics, predicting and preventing illness years before symptoms appear” states Novitzkas.
“Personal superintelligence isn’t about replacing people – it’s about augmenting them,” he explains. “The student still learns, the entrepreneur still builds, the farmer still farms, but each with supercharged capacity.”
For Africa, the implications are profound. Just as mobile phones allowed the continent to leapfrog landline infrastructure, PSI could democratise access to world-class expertise, placing tutors, doctors, and business advisors directly into the hands of millions.
Communities once excluded from global opportunities could find themselves at the cutting edge of human capability. Yet the danger is equally clear: if personal superintelligence is ignored, the future will default to centralisation, calcifying inequality and entrenching dominance in the hands of a few.
“This debate can’t stay confined to Silicon Valley,” Novitzkas warns. “The decisions we make now, about whether intelligence is centralised or personal, will shape the next century of human life. Africa has the chance not just to catch up, but to leap ahead.”
Specno is urging policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders to recognise PSI as humanity’s next great leap forward.
Without intentional design and distributed frameworks, superintelligence risks becoming humanity’s greatest divide instead of its greatest breakthrough.
