On 22 September 2026, Computer Weekly turns 60. To mark the milestone, we asked some of our friends – experts, parliamentarians, IT leaders and suppliers – for their perspectives on how tech has changed their lives over six decades. What’s changed the most for you since then?
Happy 60th birthday to Computer Weekly. My own career in the technology industry is nearly 30, so between us we’ve seen a world of change.
Working in tech hadn’t always been the plan – I studied management at university, not computer science. There was a growing buzz about technology, and I was determined to get my foot in the door. Even then, I got the sense this industry was going to end up shaping almost every other.
So far it hasn’t disappointed. I’ve been fortunate enough to work through several seismic shifts – I still remember the mainframe. The move to digital. The internet boom. Mobile. Cloud. Software as a service. Social. Every few years there seemed to be another moment when people declared that everything was about to change.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest one yet, by quite a distance.
Back when I started, I saw that tech was the future. But now I’m asking myself, what kind of future are we building with technology? Will it elevate humanity and our societies, or undermine us? Only we decide, and it’s in our hands to build responsible AI that serves people and fosters a healthy society, first and foremost.
Am I excited? Vigilant? Both, honestly. But I’ve learned over the years that whenever something genuinely transformative comes along, it brings opportunity and uncertainty in equal measure. I can’t tell what the future holds, but I do have some hard-won lessons I’m applying to this wave of transformation.
Take action, responsibly
There’s one mantra I keep coming back to – action is the antithesis of anxiety.
The way I’ve always seen it, there are two paths through disruption. We can stand back, avoid new things and wait for it all to become clearer. Or we can be proactive and meet the uncertainty head on.
For me, that means making sure we develop AI responsibly. Now that we’ve entered an era where AI can take action on our behalf, we need strong guardrails in place to ensure responsible, safe, accurate and trustworthy AI outcomes from the start.
AI is designed to augment and help humans, and I’m excited by its huge potential to make our world a better place. For example, Salesforce’s AI agent, Bobbi, is helping UK police forces handle non-urgent, routine requests so staff and officers can focus on high-risk calls requiring human discernment.
“Because I didn’t come from a computer science background, I’ve always focused on the human impact of technology. Some of the best innovation happens when you focus on the human problems you’re trying to solve”
Zahra Bahrololoumi
Yet, as AI shapes increasingly critical decisions, human values like equality and trust become paramount. On a client project earlier in my career, I experienced how even simple tech – a sensor tap – failed because it lacked inclusive design, ignoring darker skin tones.
Tech mirrors our existing biases, and AI is only as good as the data feeding it. To prevent embedding societal bias into innovation, we must build diverse teams that reflect our multicultural world.
By directly confronting this issue, we ensure AI serves as a catalyst for a better, more human world. It’s on all of us in the industry to champion ethical governance, equality, and responsible development.
Skills development makes growth inclusive
Working in technology, I was always anxious about taking on a new role, especially one I didn’t feel technically “qualified” for on paper. My attitude and willingness to jump in always outpaced my skills at first. I quickly caught up.
My own technology training – often gleaned at night and weekends from thick textbooks on TCP/IP protocols and the like – was often a slow, solo grind. Today, AI-driven change arrives at lightning speed, but platforms like Salesforce’s Trailhead give us ready tools to learn and adapt.
Yet many communities remain trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide. Through Salesforce’s work with Business in the Community across the UK, I’ve seen how poverty and lack of access to skills can compound inequality. Without urgent intervention, AI will widen this gap.
Skills can be democratised for everyone, and with AI ushering in rapid change, continuous learning will be essential. That’s why Salesforce is partnering on the UK government’s AI Skills Boost to train 10 million workers by 2030. Through our Future Trailblazers employee volunteering programme here in the UK and Ireland, we’ll train school children in AI literacy and safety. We’ve also opened a London AI Centre to train people on agentic AI.
I’ve called for a national online digital skills platform for nearly a decade, and I’ll continue to urge all stakeholders to work together to deliver one.
Don’t forget human skills
AI isn’t human. Nothing can replace that human connection – even as we work alongside AI agents. Collaborating with people is where so much of the joy of work comes from.
Looking back on my first role as a business analyst at American Management Systems, capturing business and technical requirements was never just a data-gathering exercise. It was about building trust, practicing empathy, and forming genuine partnerships with clients to understand their business needs. That human groundwork remains essential today.
But here’s my concern: AI could insulate us from the need to figure it out together. I could feasibly sit at home, experimenting with the latest tools. Would I learn things? Of course. Would I learn as much as I do by exchanging ideas, challenging assumptions and working through problems together with people? I’m not convinced.
Because I didn’t come from a computer science background, I’ve always focused on the human impact of technology. Some of the best innovation happens when you focus on the human problems you’re trying to solve.
That’s why human skills will always be in demand. As AI handles routine tasks, we must continue to nurture talent and not sacrifice entry-level roles.
Coming full circle
The question often posed to me is how technology has changed my life. I might be inclined to rephrase the question in the active voice: how can we change our lives with technology?
By being proactive in the face of uncertainty. By being human. By getting stuck in and improving skills. By figuring it out with the people around us, rather than waiting for a roadmap.
In this way, we aren’t just adapting to change – we’re using technology to shape a more positive, human-focused future.
Zahra Bahrololoumi is CEO of Salesforce UK & Ireland.
S 004