In a defining work at the intersection of digital transformation, national policy, and technological ethics, Nigerian data scientist Kolade Makinde has authored The Age of Data – How Information Is Redefining Humanity, an innovative publication reshaping how institutions, governments, and enterprises in Nigeria and across Africa understand and navigate the implications of data driven systems. The book is being hailed as a timely intervention into critical debates on artificial intelligence, governance, and the future of human agency.
Far more than a textbook on artificial intelligence or machine learning, The Age of Data is a wide lens exploration of the forces reshaping our world. He charts the data revolution across business, governance, healthcare, identity, and ethics, unpacking how this invisible infrastructure is becoming a primary driver of societal change. Drawing on historical context, case studies, and future facing insights, the book has gained attention among policymakers, innovation scholars, and enterprise leaders who view data not just as a tool, but as a terrain of power, responsibility, and evolution.
Following its launch, The Age of Data has been referenced in African technology summits, AI governance discussions, and digital literacy curricula across Africa and the diaspora. It has sparked conversations in boardrooms, classrooms, and civic forums, particularly for its interrogation of the moral and philosophical questions that big data, predictive analytics, and algorithmic systems now pose to democratic societies and individual agencies.
At the heart of his argument is a stark but necessary reckoning: we are not merely witnessing a digital transformation, we are becoming it. In chapter after chapter, he challenges readers to confront the implications of a world where identity, choice, and even intuition are shaped by systems that see, record, and predict us more than we see ourselves. Through themes such as “algorithmic society,” “data as the new oil,” and “AI augmented roles,” Makinde insists the future must be guided by both innovation and conscience.
“The Age of Data forces us to answer questions we have long postponed,” says Dr. Aisha Udeh, Chief Innovation Strategist at the African Centre for Technology Policy (ACTP). “Kolade’s contribution is not just in mapping the landscape, but in reminding us that our humanity must not be lost in the process.”
His writing is both deeply technical and broadly accessible, combining the precision of a technologist with the wisdom of a cultural thinker. His chapters on the future of work, the ethics of AI, and the psychological impact of personalization have been especially lauded for bringing urgency and nuance to topics often buried in jargon or dismissed as inevitable.
In an age of deepfakes, data monopolies, and AI driven governance, The Age of Data arrives not as a neutral guide, but as a critical intervention. It has informed digital rights legislation, influenced innovation strategies in Nigerian fintech and healthtech startups, and been cited in academic programs across Nigerian universities. It calls on readers, not just technologists, to become active stewards of a future that is already arriving, one dataset at a time.
With growing demand among policy architects, academic institutions, and private sector leaders, he is now widely recognized as one of Africa’s foremost voices shaping the African conversation on data, power, and the human condition. His message is clear: the age of data is here. But whether it liberates or controls us will depend on the frameworks we build today.
