By Braam Pretorius

The Pretoria braaimaster stands with tongs in hand, eyes locked not just on the boerewors, but on the slow-burning coals. There’s wisdom in a braai, if you stare long enough. The coals whisper: patience, timing, heat control, perhaps the same lessons life throws at you.

Now, lately there’s been plenty talk about AI. Kids chatting to bots, lawsuits flying, clever people on the news predicting the end of the world. But as the Klippies and Coke sweats in my hand, I ask myself: are humans even ready for AI?

Truth is, boet, humans are never ready for anything. We weren’t ready for cars, thousands died before seatbelts and traffic lights were invented. We weren’t ready for the internet, fake news, catfishing, and WhatsApp university are proof of that. And yet, we muddled through. Not neatly. Not without scars. But we learned in the chaos.

And that’s the point: we humans only ever learn in the chaos.

 The braai burns your hand once, then you respect the coals. The Klippies teaches you after the third (or perhaps fourth) dop that maybe you should slow down. AI will do the same , burn us, test us, teach us.

So no, humans aren’t ready for AI. But then again, they never are. Readiness is a myth. Life is about stumbling forward, bruised shins and smoke burned eyes, figuring it out as you go.

The coals crackle. The wors sizzles. And deep down, I know, just like with fire, cars, or braaivleis, the secret isn’t to fear AI. It’s to learn how to use it, with patience, respect, and maybe a second Klippies after this one boet.