“The pessimism that flows from our analysis, our observation, and our lived experiences can — must, and should be — overcome by the optimism of our thought, our action, our creativity, and our courage,” Naidoo said. “This is a moment for brutal honesty.”

He said that’s why his talk was titled “Creative Maladjustment,” a concept put forth by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to link the internal struggles of individuals to the social forces around them. Naidoo said, “There are some things in our society and in our world that make me proud to be maladjusted.”

For example, he said it’s not wise or healthy to “adjust” oneself to racial segregation and discrimination, or economic conditions that take necessities from the underprivileged only to luxuriously benefit the wealthy. “If anybody thinks that COVID was the worst disease you lived through, I submit to you that the worst disease we face as humanity is a disease called ‘affluenza.’ Affluenza is a pathological illness where rich and poor alike have been led to believe that the most important thing to give you a decent meaning in life is more and more material acquisitions.”

Intersectionality, culture, creativity

Naidoo said that humanity needs to embrace the idea of ‘intersectionality,’ or recognizing that all these different social and environmental issues are interconnected. One can’t just focus on oneself without considering how everything is tangled up together, so we have to address challenges in more unified ways.

‘Cultural emergence’ — the process of letting diverse cultural perspectives and voices guide us in finding solutions — is another important concept, Naidoo said. Societies can benefit from listening to indigenous and ancient knowledge and understanding their traditional practices and wisdom. Such communities have been living in harmony with nature for centuries, and much can be learned from them, he said.

Another transformative concept is ‘artivism,’ or where arts and activism come together as social and cultural movements. Facts and figures (while critically necessary) are useful, but ultimately, people also need storytelling, music, and the visual arts to drive home the urgency of the environmental crisis and spur constructive action. “We need to reach people’s hearts and bodies as well as we do their heads,” he said.

He explained that people are overstimulated with the constant onslaught of information every day. So, art has the power to move and have lasting effects on cultures that get deeply entrenched, so long as this dynamic is used in positive ways. 

New paths forward after conflicts

“We need to redesign much of the current system that we have, whether it be economics, whether it be energy or transportation. And so, the notion of creative maladjustment is a clarion call,” said Naidoo, who also referred to the military build-ups in the U.S. and elsewhere. “Sadly, we are spending even more money on military expenditures.”

He quoted President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address in 1961: “‘In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.’”

Naidoo spoke of lost or hijacked opportunities for true societal change after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the protests against the Iraq War in 2003, the economic crises of 2008-09, the Arab Spring movements in the early 2010s, and the emergence from the COVID global pandemic in 2020. “These were moments where we could have learned a lot.”

For instance, he said, in the post-COVID era, the conversations among those in power were about system recovery, system protection, and system maintenance when what was actually needed was system innovation, transformation, and redesign. He cited a 2002 RAND study commissioned by the CIA that concluded that the biggest threat to peace, security, and stability in the decades ahead will not come from terrorism or conventional threats but from the impacts of climate change. 

“If you look at the Syrian war and some of the conflicts in Africa now, the hand of climate change is alive and well in many of those conflicts. Within this context, we have to recognize that we are dealing with a particular unique moment in history where we've seen a convergence of multiple crises,” Naidoo said.

‘Knowledge that resonates’

On messaging, a new approach needs to be considered, he said. “Sadly and somewhat ironically, it’s the likes of Steve Bannon and Donald Trump who appear to better understand this truth.” We don’t need to lie, Naidoo said, but we just need to communicate thoughtfully and impactfully and not send a barrage of communications exclusively rooted in science and jargon while ignoring the heart and human emotions.

“Our challenge is to center our narratives in a way that not only speaks to the head but also touches the heart. By blending the power of evidence with the art of storytelling, we can create profound impacts on individuals and communities. We must strive to communicate knowledge that resonates with people’s emotions, values, and aspirations,” Naidoo said.

Michael McFaul, director of FSI, said, “Kumi gave a fantastic Payne lecture this week at FSI, one of the most thought-provoking talks I have attended in a long while. His unique set of experiences, coupled with his deep convictions, reflective mind, and unique ability to touch both the mind and the heart, make him a special leader in the world — exactly the kind of person for whom the Payne Lectureship was intended.”

“We're thrilled to have Kumi in residence with us at CDDRL this year,” added Kathryn Stoner, the center’s Mosbacher Director. “The insights he shared on transformative change and the climate crisis are invaluable, and his call for creative maladjustment challenges us to rethink our strategies, inspiring us to pursue a brighter future.”

Payne lecturers are chosen for his or her international reputation as leaders, with an emphasis on visionary thinking, practical engagement, and important perspectives on the global community and its challenges. As the Payne Distinguished Lecturer, Naidoo is also teaching a seminar to the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students across FSI’s centers.

When I arrived at Stanford in September 2022, I’d just stepped out of a product manager role at a large government contractor. My career had focused on providing policymakers with the best open-source information possible around a myriad of foreign policy issues. Over the preceding years, that work had become increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence (AI), not just as a subject of analysis but as a critical tool in the analytic process. In enrolling in the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy (MIP) program, situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, I hoped I could better understand AI and how it would reshape geopolitics. 

My timing was serendipitous. Just as I settled in, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, and the world changed. It was a whirlwind period of wild speculation, anxiety, and excitement. To cut through the noise, I sat in on an advanced course on machine learning and enrolled in the Computer Science department’s core course, Programming Abstractions, to build my programming skills. Blending my policy framework development in MIP courses with technical study at Stanford’s renowned Computer Science department was exactly what I hoped Stanford would provide. 

What I didn’t expect, however, was how differently I was starting to think about my future after the program.

The Entrepreneurial Leap

The original plan for MIP was to get smart and then apply what I learned within an established organization, like my former employer or the government. I began to wonder if, rather than providing information to decision-makers as I had previously in my career, I could combine my product management experience and burgeoning CS competency in a different way. Could I attack the same problems I’d been working on for years, but from the bottom up? Could I use technology to empower the broader public to become more resilient to misinformation and polarization?

The approaching summer seemed like the opportunity to test my product ideas and the possibility of starting a business around them. MIP’s summer funding made it feasible to take advantage of that opportunity while still paying my rent. It also added helpful structure to my plan, requiring me to record my hours and find a mentor to oversee my progress.

My former colleague, David, with whom I have a strong relationship built on trust and shared vision, agreed to be my mentor. He had recently launched his own company in a related space and was able to share a wealth of experience and insights.

The Summer of Coding and Discover

Summer came, and I dove headfirst into coding, dedicating countless hours at the corner desk of my Hoskins apartment to building something tangible that embodied my vision. I also began immersing myself in the Bay Area’s tech ecosystem - attending AI seminars, venture capital events, and networking with founders.

The results of those first weeks were encouraging. I prduced a working prototype that used AI to identify misleading information online and, by referencing trusted sources, provide missing context and corrective information to the reader. It was real progress toward a world where we no longer rely on ineffective fact-checking after readers are exposed to misleading information and form their opinions. Instead, AI could help every news reader spot deceptive content in real-time - during the opinion formation process.

Despite my progress, I realized that if I were going to keep up with the pace of the hyper-competitive AI startup field, I would need a partner.

Finding a Co-founder 

With a working prototype of my Critical Reader Google Chrome extension, I felt ready to seek out an experienced partner who could help scale my vision. Y Combinator’s co-founder matching platform was my arena. It was a whirlwind of meetings and ideas, but eventually, I connected with the former CTO of a successful startup, who shared my commitment to revolutionizing digital information sharing.

We hit it off and decided to test our partnership with a 30-day trial. We examined my prototype critically and decided to pivot towards a simpler, more marketable product. In a few weeks, we had a minimum viable product ready and began user testing. As expected, the feedback was a mixture of praise and criticism, but it was energizing to have the critical data we needed to iterate and improve.

Beyond coding, we invested considerable effort into refining a mutual vision and business strategy. We began exploring non-profit frameworks and various hybrid business models that could achieve the scalability of a for-profit enterprise while preserving the principles that motivated us.

Renewed Vision 

In a few short months, my curiosity had evolved into a venture with real users and a business model. I had also changed. The experience developing financial forecasts and strategic plans significantly enhanced my professional toolkit and gave me first-hand experience with the reality of starting a business. 

Now, as I enter my penultimate quarter at Stanford, I am able to develop products and explore partnerships with a newfound clarity of purpose. My summer of entrepreneurship added a new dimension to my MIP experience and has set the stage for what comes after the program ends.

My goal of spending the summer of 2023 working in the Global South came to fruition, courtesy of the Environment for Development - Makerere University Centre (EfD - MaK), the  Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and the Stanford Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI). Being on the ground in Uganda to work on green finance seemed the right call. I have spent four years in the Global North, primarily in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, working on European Union (EU) international economics issues, which included green finance. One of the biggest challenges I encountered was the conflict of interest between donors and the projects they prioritized and the beneficiaries and the projects they prioritized. In this aspect, disagreements about green financing were especially pronounced.

In my first year at Stanford, I participated in a series of learning, unlearning, and relearning experiences to understand better how to make economic decisions work well for both developed and developing countries. I was excited about a summer fellowship that would allow me to leverage my expertise from the Global North and newly acquired knowledge from Stanford to contribute toward addressing the economic development challenges of the Global South. Fortunately, the EfD - MaK Center in Uganda awarded me a fellowship opportunity, and with the funding of FSI and SFI, I was able to spend 12 weeks working in Uganda. Being in Uganda was not a novel experience for me. I was born and had previously worked there both as a development consultant and as a research assistant on different randomized controlled trial experiments.

Working in Uganda, however, and becoming immersed in the Global South perspective of green finance was new. My duties as a Visiting Fellow at EfD - MaK made the Fellowship an entirely unique and rewarding experience. I conducted policy analysis on green finance, collaborated with stakeholders from the public sector, civil society, private sector, and academia, contributed to high-level policy dialogues, and took part in some of the ongoing projects on energy financing. This work gave me an understanding of the distinctive nature of the energy and climate environment in Uganda. Accomplishing development objectives, such as eliminating poverty and promoting prosperity for all, requires energy sources to be available. Ensuring essential levels of energy supply is also of mutual interest to donors and country beneficiaries.

In Uganda, green finance is particularly important in addressing the energy poverty problem and allowing the country to meet Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). UBOS- Uganda Bureau of Statistics’ 2018 National Electrification Survey shows that 66% of Ugandans are multidimensional energy poor, measured by access, cooking solutions, and end-use technology. In its NDCs, Uganda has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, most of which are from agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU), by 24.7% before 2030. These commitments call for green financing approaches that promote access to clean and affordable energy for most Ugandans who are currently either underserved or unserved. Climate finance is essential to help vulnerable communities deal with the prevalent consequences of climate change. Uganda now faces a $28.1 billion climate financing gap and has been able to mobilize only $4 billion. Boosting green financing from all players, local or international, public, private, for-profit or not-for-profit, will help the country build climate resilience and adaptability and meet its broader green growth objectives, as specified under the NDCs.

International donors have helped Uganda make some progress towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal - SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. The National Planning Authority reports that Uganda’s electricity access has increased from 24% in 2018/2019 to 57% in 2021/2022, and its grid reliability from 90% to 98%. However, a lot still needs to be done. Uganda’s biomass usage, primarily for household cooking, is still at 80% despite efforts to reduce it to 50%. Ugandan household emissions are estimated at 30 tons of carbon per year compared to five tons for the United Kingdom.

There are serious issues related to energy affordability. Uganda’s level of income inequality is high, with a Gini Index of 0.427.¹ The Borgen Project reports that Uganda’s richest 10% receive 35.7% of the national wealth. In comparison, the poorest 20% receive only 5.8%. This indicates that a larger share of the population cannot afford clean energy. Even though policy dialogues sponsored by government officials have resulted in progress in reducing electricity costs, electricity remains unaffordable for many economically disadvantaged individuals.

This summer experience taught me that conditions within Uganda are similar to those of many countries of the Global South, particularly sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), that experience energy poverty. International Energy Centre (IEC) research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic worsened energy poverty. IEC also projects that about 560 million people from SSA will still have no electricity access in 2030. My experience at EfD-Mak taught me that addressing country technical gaps and prioritizing green projects in planning, programming, and budgetary processes could enable countries to bridge the energy gaps.

There is also a need to leverage the private sector, entrepreneurs, and financiers to invest in and contribute to Uganda’s green growth agenda. However, this necessitates that the government implement an enabling business climate to attract local and international players. Coordinated efforts are also essential to combat dependency on biomass, which increases greenhouse gas emissions and poses health risks to the populace. From the policy dialogues I participated in, ministries, departments, and agency officials emphasized the government’s commitment to reducing biomass usage. All players around the table, including the private sector, civil society, and communities themselves, must participate to accomplish biomass reduction.

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Spending the summer in Uganda met my expectations for an on the ground experience. It gave me a better understanding of the working environment in a developing country and elevated my grasp of several international development issues. I also acknowledge that countries are rarely the same, making it vital to gain direct exposure to the on the ground reality instead of relying on studies and external generalizations.

By and large, I am very thankful to the EfD Director, Professor Edward Bbaale, for allowing me to work on these issues and for his invaluable mentorship. I also enjoyed working with a team of experts, which included Dr. Peter Babyenda, Mr. Fred Kasalirwe, Mr. Gyavira Ssewankambo, and Ms. Jane Anyango, to mention just a few. Above all, I am thankful to FSI and SFI at Stanford University, whose collaboration with EfD-Mak Uganda made my summer fellowship both a priceless experience and a great opportunity to be home again.