Antonie van Rensburg is a little uncomfortable at the beginning of our interview. “I’m an engineer, I’m not used to people,” he jokes. He adds he’s at least better than some of his work colleagues who straight-out say they prefer machines to people.

Over the last year or so, Van Rensburg has been forced to overcome his fear of engaging the public. The founder and CEO of 4Sight Holdings, a company specialising in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI), had to sell his vision to the media and prospective investors before the company was listed on the JSE’s Alternative Exchange (AltX) late last year.