The Inner Logic Uganda

AI is already in Uganda—but many people are still figuring out how to use it. There is something strange about the way we are living with technology in Uganda. People  can have a smartphone in their hand, internet access, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and now artificial intelligence — and still spend an entire day looking for information in the hardest possible way. They may be trying to understand something at work. They may be looking for a business idea. They may be struggling to write a letter. They may be trying to understand a complicated document. They may have a child struggling with schoolwork. They may be trying to prepare for an interview, learn a new skill or make sense of a difficult personal decision.  And sitting right there in the same phone is a tool that can help them think through many of these problems.  But many people have not yet understood what it is.  They know AI as something that writes assignments. Something students use to cheat. Ma...

Why many Ugandans work hard Everyday but less do succeed for long? There is something we need to discuss honestly about work in Uganda. Every morning, people wake up before sunrise. Some are opening shops, others are preparing to travel to work, while others are arranging tomatoes, onions, bananas and oranges along busy roads. Teachers enter classrooms, office workers sit behind computers, domestic workers travel abroad, and young people start small businesses with the little money they have managed to collect. By evening, many are exhausted. They have spent hours working, taken risks, dealt with customers and struggled to meet their responsibilities. Yet, after months or even years, some of them cannot point to meaningful progress in their lives. They are still borrowing money to survive. Their businesses are still operating at the same level. Their savings are almost nonexistent. One illness, one family emergency or one bad business season can return them to the same financial posi...

A woman sitting on computer making research. Many Ugandans have heard about artificial intelligence, commonly called AI. Some have tried ChatGPT, Gemini, grok and others in their simple searching while others have seen people using AI to generate pictures, write essays or answer questions. But there is a bigger question worth asking: What can an ordinary Ugandan actually do with AI that makes a difference in everyday life?  Can someone use it to learn a skill without paying for an expensive course? Can a small shop owner use it to attract customers? Can an office worker finish tasks more efficiently? Can a job seeker improve their applications? Can a teacher use it to prepare better lessons? The answer is yes. AI can help with all these things, although the quality of the results depends on the information you provide, the way you use the tool and whether you check its answers. The problem is that many people still treat AI as an application for asking random questions. They try it...

A man sleeping while walking. There is something strange about human life. A person can spend 40 or 50 years on earth, wake up every morning, go to work, eat, talk to people, raise children, follow the news, enjoy entertainment and grow old without seriously questioning the life he or she  living. Many can be busy every day and still fail to understand where their life is going. They can complain about the same problems for years without changing how they approach them. They can watch their circumstances change around them while continuing to live according to ideas they adopted from their parents, friends, colleagues and society. When I say 90% of people are asleep their whole life, I am not presenting a scientific statistic. I am describing a pattern I believe many people can recognise around them. People become so comfortable with familiar routines that they stop examining whether those routines are taking them anywhere. Look at Uganda specifically. How many people spend their w...