AI in South Africa is on the rise. I attended yet another AI workshop, something I usually find inspiring. I’m deeply immersed in the AI space and frequently attend webinars and courses to stay ahead. But this one left me frustrated.
From the get-go, it was clear the speakers were more concerned with sounding important than actually helping people understand how AI works. They overcomplicated simple ideas, threw around jargon without explaining it, and had an air of superiority that immediately made me question their credibility.
There are no experts in AI
Here’s the thing: anyone truly working with AI knows you can’t call yourself an expert. Why? Because the field is evolving faster than a TikTok trend during load shedding. What’s cutting-edge today might be outdated next week. Real thought leaders in AI remain students of the craft, not salespeople disguised as gurus.
One moment during the workshop summed it up perfectly. A participant asked about blogs and their relevance in AI. I chimed in via the chat: “Blogs are great for indexing your website and training LLMs to better source info for AI-based search.” Useful, right?
But instead of adding to the conversation, the speaker jumped in to “correct” me, offering a vague response about “the right data,” without mentioning SEO, schema and meta descriptions and alt image descriptions, etc. It wasn’t about sharing knowledge; it was about maintaining control.
What’s Metadata?
In simple terms, metadata is information about your content, like descriptions, tags, alt text, or schema. In SEO and AI, this helps both Google and language models understand your site and surface it in relevant searches. It’s like labelling your filing cabinet properly so the right people can find your info fast.
While they spent 15 minutes discussing augmented intelligence and metadata layering, all they really did was ask ChatGPT for a basic idea, something I could have done with a single clear sentence. Simplicity wins. The power of AI is in clarity, not confusion.
The Myth of the Magic Prompt
Too many people believe AI is about finding the perfect prompt, when it’s really about:
- Knowing what you want
- Iterating with clarity
- Giving context
Example:
Let’s say you want AI to help write a product description.
- First prompt: “Write a product description for a mug.”
- AI responds, but it’s too generic.
- You iterate: “Make it sound more playful and include the fact that it’s handmade.”
- It gets better, but now it’s too long.
- You iterate again: “Shorten it to under 100 words, but keep the playful tone and mention it’s handmade
AI doesn’t need the perfect prompt. It needs the right context. These presenters acted like prompt-crafting is an art form, but the reality is: if you’re clear, curious, and a bit iterative, you’ll get great results, no jargon required.
What AI Thinks (Yes, This Bit Is from ChatGPT)
As an AI designed to support creators, here’s what I “see”:
- When humans give clear instructions, I produce the best results.
- If someone is using overly complex language to explain simple ideas, it’s usually to protect their status, not to teach.
- Real experts simplify. Performers complicate.
- Metadata is helpful, but so is plain language. I understand both.
So, if someone’s trying to convince you that AI is only for “prompt geniuses,” they’re probably selling something. Not knowledge.
This isn’t a rant against paid workshops or upselling; go for it if your product delivers value. But using AI as a smokescreen for shallow sales tactics helps no one. People want actionable insight, not ego-driven monologues. If you’re working with AI in South Africa or anywhere, know this: it’s not about who sounds smartest in the room. It’s about who can explain things simply, share generously, and create results that matter. Let’s ditch the ego and keep it real with AI in South Africa.
TL;DR:
- AI in South Africa is growing fast, and so is the number of self-proclaimed “experts.”
- If someone makes simple concepts sound complicated, they’re likely more interested in selling than teaching.
- Blogs are still vital for SEO and for feeding high-quality, structured data into LLMs.
- A real expert knows that AI literacy is about accessibility, not gatekeeping.
Let’s create spaces where we learn together, not compete to look clever.
