Diversity, the Tech Divide, & Digital Architecture, in the 5th Industrial Revolution...

ＭＥＥＴ ＴＨＥ ＡＲＣＨＩＴＥＣＴ: ＩＤＤＲＩＳ ＳＡＮＤＵ

A 23 year old, Compton raised, Ghanaian born, first generation immigrant is taking the tech-industry in the United States by storm, and his name is Iddris Sandu.

Like many of us, before your chance encounter of hearing his name, you probably have never heard of this legend in the making. With only a humble 126k followers on Instagram and 17.9k followers on Twitter, it is understandable that his name may not be in the pop culture trivia deck [e.g. the Elon Musks, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos, of tech history] of innovative, mainstream, leaders we know. However, despite his marginal national acclaim, his network, impact, and vision is cosmic beyond measure.

The start of Sandu's journey began in 2011 when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone; entranced with the release, Sandu became fascinated with process of what makes tech work. He began frequenting the Compton public library consuming all the content he could on the language of programming. The books at the library were so outdated and ancient that they could not be checked out of the library because they did not have barcodes. Despite this, Sandu committed himself to coming to the library religiously until he understood the fundamental of code and programming.

Sandu recounts fondly in various interviews, of all the trouble he gave his mother growing up, as he dissembled and rewired the circuit boards of remote controls to understand the systemic why and function of how they worked.

If not by fate, Iddris was given his name by his grandfather. In Arabic, his name translates to the biblical figure "Enoch" a descendent of Moses, who was blessed with the gift of penmanship. In an interview with Beats Flex, Sandu shared that his family always thought he would become a writer -- and although he works with language -- it is not the literary convention of which we are familiar with. Our architect, Iddris, reads and writes in code; computer hope defines code as "text that is written using the protocol of a particular language by a computer programmer."

Growing up, Iddris knew he was different from other kids, and not in the way of pretention, but in the way of priorities. Iddris was alight with purpose and passion to achieve an outcome and vision well beyond the wisdom of his peers. The release of the iPhone in 2011 was not just a gateway for a tech-consumption for Sandu, it was a gateway for tech-creation. He highlights in a 2019 interview on the Angie Martinez Show that at the moment the iPhone released he came to the revelation that this platform would transform the entire way consumers could interact with technology.

Sandu expounded that for the first time in history, the iPhone merged three functions into one unit: phone, internet, iPod. At the onset of the presentation, viewers believed they were getting three separate products released, until Jobs revealed that it would be all in one -- the iPhone. Sandu shared in the interview that the iPhone went on to introduce multi-touch functions and the app store, which allowed consumers to have more sovereignty and agency to create applications for other users to interface on, which to him was and actually is revolutionary.

Sparked by the impetus to invent and create, Sandu pursued his passion to learn programming languages such as Java, C+, Python, Node.js, HTML, Fortran. Around the age of 13, Iddris and his family moved to Harbor City, a neighborhood considerably more wealthy and resource rich than Compton. Sandu continued his faithful ritual of seeking information and knowledge on code language and began his habit at the Harbor City library. There, at the new library he gained firsthand experience and understanding of what resource inequity can mean for the trajectory and outcome of minorities. He realized that the Harbor City library had newer, better maintained, up to date content that would propel him further than what the limited resources at the Compton library could have.

While at the Harbor City library, a Google engineer from Silicon Valley came in looking for a book on JavaScript to brush up on his skill. By a chance of fate, Sandu had taken the book he needed off the shelf. The librarian helped the engineer locate Sandu, and the engineer was blown away at the catalog of content Sandu was studying for his age. From there, the engineer offered Sandu an internship at Google, and at the precocious age of the 13 his career took off.

When Iddris was 15 years old he created a mobile-software app for aiding students in navigating the schools and locating their classrooms and by the time he was 16 Iddris was awarded the Presidential Scholarship Award by President Barack Obama.

Of course when Iddris graduated high school, he was offered various opportunities to have full ride scholarships to Ivy League institutions, among them was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). However, Iddris opted out of the traditional route of University and chose to use his time to pursue innovation and technology. Besides, by the time he was 18, he had already began writing algorithms and programming with major platforms such as Instagram, Uber, and Snapchat to name a few, to commit to studying the actual industry he was presently working in.

Yes, by the time he was 18, Iddris Sandu was writing programs and algorithms for major social media platforms, and that's just the beginning of his blossoming success!

In 2017, Iddris Sandu collaborated with the late Nipsey Hussle to open the world's first "smart store" the Marathon Clothing Store, in Crenshaw California. Sandu and Hussle had a chance encounter in a local L.A. Starbucks, wherein the two connected over their love of hip-hop and Hussle's fascination with Sandu's programming pursuits. From there the connection was history! Sandu then went on to design the technological infrastructure of the smart store, as well as work on new audio software that has yet to release.

Just recently in 2019, the "PayPal founder Peter Thiel’s Foundation gave him a $100,000 fellowship in 2019 to take ideas about sustainable design and technology to Africa’s youth."

If you can't believe this 23 year old can get any cooler, I'm going to deliver even cooler news! Not only has he accomplished so much since his junior education, but he has also worked with Jaden Smith, Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Prada to name a few. I know -- you can collect your jaw from the floor, and pop your eyes back in -- insane, right?

This escalated very quickly, but with exceptional genius, comes exceptional circumstances. For Beyoncé, he designed her website; for Kanye and Jaden, he partnered with them to design Kanye's next album cover, as well as explore business ventures and disaster relief initiatives; for Rihanna he collaborated with Fenty to create an innovative digital invitation; and for Prada he was invited to the Prada Mode, a travelling social club with a focus on contemporary culture.

Iddris Sandu is also a highly requested speaker and has hosted various interviews, seminars, lectures, and even his own TED Talk since the launch of his career during high school.

Another facet of Sandu's great epiphany as he progressed along his journey for knowledge is that although the advent of the app store opened a greater level of user sovereignty, it also came with greater psychological limitations of the capacity of engagement users can expect to have with their devices.

This is where the difference between a consumer and a creator comes into play. Sandu realized that being a consumer limited him the constitution, contracts, and parameters outlined in the user agreements created by apps, and that we are all made to be in compliance with regulations enlisted that we often do not read. He found it problematic that everyday, common folk only find low level engagement, such as app creation and design to be a priority in the tech involvement, when in the grand scheme of things their foundational agency can be undermined by Apple Inc. or any software, or operating system provider, eliminating access. Thus, although we can make our own apps, we are beholden, as consumers, to those who provide us the platform to promote our apps.

However, what makes Iddris a standout thought leader in the tech field, in my opinion, is his conceptualization of his purpose and role in technology.

During an interview with BigBoyTV when asked if given a self-ascribed title, what would the title be, Iddris responded:

"Architect. As a verb. I feel like that's important and all of us are architects, as a verb. If you think of it as a noun, it's somebody who builds buildings, but as a verb it means to take a figment of an idea and make it into an actual thing."

The brilliance of his architectural conceptualization of our role in the creation of not only tech, but reality itself, is the brilliant foundational premise of his greater vision...

ＨＩＳ ＶＩＳＩＯＮ

From what I've gathered through sourcing various interviews, lectures, and articles, the ultimate aim of Sandu's vision is to eliminate discrimination bias in the tech industry by bridging the access gap between minorities and the increasingly immersive, tech-oriented world we are presently living in. Especially with the advent of the pandemic in the beginning of 2020, our world has vastly become more virtual dependent. As we shift from the old world, we are being ushered into a more contactless, new, fifth industrial revolution, which is defined by "the combination of humans and machines in the workplace."

With this transition in mind, Sandu does not want nonwhite and marginalized identities to be left out of the decision making power structure of the new industrial wave.

In conjunction with putting in the hard work to achieve his ultimate goal and vision, Iddris has been more than generous in sharing his message and keys for success with the general public. He does so in the belief that information is the great equalizer, and that he has a strong obligation to share information with the youth of today’s society and “level the playing field” for minorities looking for opportunities in technology.

ＨＩＳ ＭＥＳＳＡＧＥ

Iddris Sandu has a powerful message, which I have summed up into the acronym "DO IT" which stands for design thinking, information, ownership, and time. These core topics are exceedingly highlighted in his lectures wherein he encourages minorities to and everyday citizens to participate in the creation of a digital domain that is diverse and reflective of all of our unique experiences. I will explain these themes in greater detail below...

𝔻𝔼𝕊𝕀𝔾ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾

Google defines design thinking as "the cognitive, strategic and practical processes by which design concepts are developed." In an interview, Iddris outlined that his design process is empathy --> conceptualization --> ideation--> and problem solving. The core purpose of his process is centering human good as the foundation and motivation behind his decision making; how this could be of use to all cultures, societies, and persons, while at the same time uplifting the cultural integrity of his own group as well.

Iddris is quoted as saying during the interview:

"At any stage in all my projects I do some kind of focus group between a couple of people and then depending on the issues they bring up, I bring it back up to the ideation again, and I repeat that process until the idea has least discriminatory issues or something. Then we prototype and present."

𝕆𝕎ℕ𝔼ℝ𝕊ℍ𝕀ℙ

The concept of ownership is also something Iddris emphasizes strongly as well. Sandu pushes for people to take pride and protect their intellectual property as an asset that is an extension of themselves.

In an interview with Kulture Hub, he is quoted as saying:

The most valuable thing for entrepreneurs to do is to stop holding those ideas inside -- put them out there. Execute your ideas, own your intellectual property. Hip equals hop. Hip hop. High intellectual property equality high outputted products. The more intellectual property that you can build, create and own, the more opportunities you can have to create.”

Iddris inspires those in and outside of the tech industry to expand their horizons by challenging their limiting beliefs about the quality of ideas we have inside of ourselves; but rather, to take the risk and contribute to society in whatever capacity we can, and capitalize on our unique gifts.

𝕀ℕ𝔽𝕆ℝ𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ

Another core element of Sandu's message to society is information. During his ascent from childhood in Compton to a thriving career in Silicon Valley at 18, what propelled him expediently forward as information and access. Despite his initial circumstances, Sandu blossomed like a concrete rose, and exceeded the reality anyone could have conceptualized about people from this background. During an interview titled Rooting Your Vision in an Automated Future, he explained how when he shared his story with high schoolers and mentees who were in his prior position they were struck with mysticism and disbelief about the power of information in his narrative. He explained:

I would have college students, high school students, look me in the eyes and not believe I was able to do everything I did. How could a kid, who grew up in Compton have that level of access to the information that you have. So I realized there was a disconnect, and you know the most important thing, commodity, apart from time, love, and other things is information. And until the playing field for information is levelled, none of us are free. If one of us is oppressed all of us are oppressed.

Ultimately, it is Iddris' goal and mission to close the technological information gap experienced by minorities and the disenfranchised, by challenging and dismantling societal institutions, that are gatekept by racist mechanisms.

𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼!

Despite being offered a full ride scholarship to various prestigious universities, Iddris declined on the basis that he could not afford to be in school. Of course, this a troubling statement and observation in light of being offered multiple fully sponsored scholarships, but what he meant in a more philosophical and cosmic sense was that he could not afford the time.

Iddris explained in a Beats interview the importance of maximizing the time available to him after graduating mandatory high school education. Sandu is quoted as saying,

"I couldn’t afford to go into a four-year program to then come back after and talk about how technology is depriving us — that it would be too late,” Iddris said, “I couldn’t afford to not convey the message now.”

And indeed! -- Iddris did not fail to deliver on his message! Despite going against the traditional route of higher education and receiving clout and accolades. Iddris opted to dive right into his work, career, and social initiatives in order to enact change and empowerment immediately.

ＴＨＯＵＧＨＴＳ ＯＮ ＴＥＣＨ．．．

𝔻𝕀𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕊𝕀𝕋𝕐 𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕋𝔼𝕄

Iddris Sandu's primary objective in STEM is creating diversity and eliminating bias as a mechanism to bridge the information and technological gap between historical white powers and minority communities.

In an interview with Surfacemag, Sandu expounds on this point, stating:

Technology is never biased. Technology is not the enemy. It’s the people who write the algorithms—it’s the people behind the technology that can choose to infer bias on it or not. Think of an operating system as the digital version of a Constitution that governs your phone. You can create any app as long as it either coincides with the Constitution or the people that created the Constitution.

But we all know—and it’s blatantly raw—that the Constitution specifically helps one demographic more than others. Understanding that, the first version of Google Android wasn’t initially developed with diversity in mind. It was created to cater to a specific demographic group.

Diversity is a key point of change that needs to evolve as the tech industry enters the next stage of the digital revolution. We do not need the old world vestiges of racism further inhibiting the growth and integration of historically marginalized persons.

𝔼𝕃𝕀𝕄𝕀ℕ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝔹𝕀𝔸𝕊/𝔻𝕀𝕊ℂℝ𝕀𝕄𝕀ℕ𝔸𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕐 𝔸𝕃𝔾𝕆ℝ𝕀𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕄𝕊

Another present problem affecting the tech industry is algorithmic discrimination bias. You're probably wondering what algorithm bias is. Google defines algorithm bias as: "systematic and repeatable errors in a computer system that create unfair outcomes, such as privileging one arbitrary group of users over others."

In response to this phenomenon, Sandu proposes --

“You want to solve algorithm bias? Let some Black people create some technology. That’s your answer. Because when we create, we don’t just create for us. We create for everybody.”

Algorithm bias is a major component and factor in the technological divide that inhibits diversity. Diversity can only be further propelled by the elimination of discriminatory algorithms. It is Sandu's vision that,

Black people, brown people, people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all having a say in how information and technology interacts with humanity. The wider the scope of its creators, the easier it is to create platforms that consider and uplift everyone.

Uplifting everyone is a must, because if one of us is oppressed, all of us are oppressed.

𝔼𝕄ℙ𝔸𝕋ℍ𝕐 𝔸𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℂ𝕆ℝ𝔼 𝕆𝔽 𝔻𝔼ℂ𝕀𝕊𝕀𝕆ℕ 𝕄𝔸𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾

In an interview with CNBC, Sandu highlighted the importance of empathy and humanity in the decision making process of running a business.

For anyone aspiring to build a business, Sandu said that they should ask themselves: “How does my product or service help humanity, how does it advance the life of those in my community or society?" (Page 2018).

An empathetic approach is important when making infrastructure decisions that may impact others, both positively and negatively.

ℍ𝕌𝕄𝔸ℕ𝔼 𝕀ℕ𝔽𝔸𝕊𝕋ℝ𝕌ℂ𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼

The focus of Sandu's vision of tech infrastructure is "thinking human" and creating technologies that "free" us instead of "confining" us "keeping us addicted" and "molding our behaviors for the worse" (Beats Flex).

In this modality, Sandu leans towards the implementation of biomimicry. Biomimicry, according to the Oxford dictionary, is "the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes."

Sandu expounds on the relevance of biomimicry in an interview with Surfacemag, stating,

The beautiful thing about biomimicry is we’ll never be able to fully replicate nature. You’ll never fully be able to replicate organic matter. But you can do your best to replicate, assimilate, interpret, or simulate it. You know who the best creative director is? Nature. We can study nature and how it creates efficient systems all across the board, on a low level and a high level. Free information, very cost-effective.

By using biomimicry we can achieve technological infrastructures, such as augmented reality experiences, that are humane and empathetic.

ＰＲＯＪＥＣＴＳ ＋ ＡＣＣＯＭＰＬＩＳＨＭＥＮＴＳ

There are a host of projects and accomplishments Sandu has achieved during the span of his blossoming career as a young tech architect. Listed below are a few!

• ethosDNA -- a top secret project underway, with a "focus on environmentalism" that "falls in line with the idea that tech does not need to work against nature but rather with it, learning from it and improving lives. With that in mind, the company is aptly named ethosDNA" (sourced from Kulture Hub interview)

• spatiaLabs -- this is Sandu's flagship company that focuses on the creation of augmented reality.
• The Black Mural Project -- in 2016, Facebook and spatiaLABS launched an interactive piolet program for Black History month, called the Black Mural Project wherein high school students were given an "edutainment" experience of "allowing kids to interact with history via digital technology. Students would physically go up to the installation and use their tablets to hover over them as they would open up more media" (Kulture Hub).

• The Marathon Store -- wherein he collaborated with the late rapper, Nipsey Hussle, to bring to life the first "smart store" in the United States.
• Developed mobile school software at 16.
• Software development for platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.
• Recipient of a $100,000 fellowship grant from PayPal founder Peter Thiel’s foundation.
• Presidential STEM scholarship from former president Obama.
• Purchasing land in Africa for technological development.

It is clear that Iddris Sandu is the Black creative that inspires us all. Even if we are not in the tech domain the wisdom and insight he shares, from such a unique, young, and fresh vantage point gives us as a society a glimmer of hope for a new future reimagined.

I can say for myself, learning about Iddris Sandu and his mission reoriented my outlook on life. Sandu is a burgeoning Black creative, of immediate African immigrant heritage, that I can look up to. He has overcome so many social barriers set up to impede his growth! He has expanded and inspired my understanding of what it means to create, even with his eccentric take on us all being the architect (as a verb) of our own reality!

Iddris Sandu is a surefire revolutionary that will make it among the legendary greats in the upcoming future.

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*updated final version, tech error*