GITEX, Kano, and AI
Marrakech, the ochre city where the echoes of the Almoravids and Almohads still resound along the ramparts. Once an intellectual heartbeat and crossroads of worlds, a capital of dynasties whose influence reached beyond horizons. Under the benevolent protection of the Sab3atou Rijal and the spiritual aura of Moulay Brahim, this land of knowledge and trade today seems to adorn itself with the glitter of a Moroccan Vegas—a theater of entertainment and light claiming its place at the center of the global tech chessboard. Yet, what a pity to see the grandeur of the setting clash with the chaos behind the scenes.
The customer is a creature of promise. If the basics are not delivered, dissatisfaction outweighs the marvel. At GITEX, between an organization finding its feet and logistics gone astray, the Kano effect felt like a brutal lesson: disorganized queues just to earn the luxury of entering, saturated Wi-Fi, silent microphones, and ghostly projections. Marrakech, the world capital of Karam and legendary hospitality, where every street corner exhales the scents of a carefully slow-cooked Tangia—reminding me of my grandmother's cooking—deserved better than catering of consummate cynicism. Serving an indigestible dish at twice its price is not a business opportunity; it is an insult to local flavors and to the welcoming spirit that defines our country.
Fortunately, a glimmer of reason pierced the fog of discussions disconnected from the ground. Professor Samir El Masri’s workshop was a salutary reminder: the future of tech, driven by agentic AI, cannot be written without rigorous data and human-centric ethics. Yet, we must still align on wisdom and reason. But more than the concepts, it is the mindset he advocates that must inspire us: one of insatiable curiosity, continuous learning, and the humble capacity to try in order to learn from one's mistakes. In a city that has always known how to marry tradition and intellect, this return to substance was a necessity, a form of wisdom.
It is precisely this thirst for discovery and experimentation that led me to cross the threshold of the Lovable buildathon. This challenge was the spark needed to finally put my ideas into practice. In less than an hour and using only my phone, I was able to build an accessible, intelligent, and functional management system. This MVP was no mere sketch; it was a robust tool integrating embedded AI, OCR, voice assistance, and an AI agent capable of analyzing, benchmarking, and suggesting corrective actions—all in fewer than 10 prompts.
This experience reveals a truth: we are in an era where code is no longer a fortress; it is a malleable material shaped by the prompt, and where the economy seems driven by illusion rather than value. What, then, is the viability of the startups crowding the aisles of trade shows if anyone can now recreate the same technology through reverse engineering and AI in the span of a coffee break? Where do the barriers to entry lie now? We are sold fairy tales driven by the cult of personality and the power of networking, while pure expertise seems to become ephemeral. Will ground reality eventually confront these stories at the speed of an AI that gallops faster than handshakes?
Africa! It is time to wake up, raise our standards, and push back the boundaries of the possible. AI forgives neither mediocrity nor approximation. To be competitive, we must now anticipate the future, silence the noise, and listen to the calm before the storm. By constantly navigating within the narrow frameworks imposed on us by algorithms and pre-packaged models, we risk forgetting that what truly revolutionizes the world lies in the ability to think "outside the box." If we are merely performers of enticing narratives devoid of substance, we will be swept away by an AI that waits for no one. To avoid obsolescence, we must dare to break the molds and cultivate the intellectual audacity that was once the glory of Marrakech.
Ephemeral is technology, eternal is free thought.
By Wiam ATFI, translated with AI
April 12, 2026