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From the editor's desk: It’s all about data

Andrew Seldon, Editor

Welcome to the SMART Access and Identity Handbook 2026. We have slightly changed the handbook this year, specifically the selection guides, but there is still a lot of industry information inside, and more will be published online.

As is the case with every part of the security industry, access and identity are no longer just a security issue. The data generated from access control, which today includes surveillance technologies on top of the mountain of other technologies we’re used to, is being used for operational efficiency. And we can’t get away from AI anymore, as data is being sliced and diced for who knows what requirements.

AI is tightening its grip on everything. This is despite many studies last year showing that companies are not seeing productivity gains or cost benefits from AI. If you read the SMART newsbriefs we send each week, you will know that a major trend for 2026 is AI actually delivering value and becoming a co-worker with humans.

AI, as it is today, does offer value in many ways, but we are still in a position where people have to act as the security guard, checking whatever AI does to make sure it doesn’t get anything wrong. Before we can leave AI to do the annual budget or prepare annual statements, there will need to be more accuracy inherent in the technology. In my job, it’s easy enough to check if AI has ‘hallucinated’, but when you get to areas such as finance or making medical decisions, it is a totally different ballgame.

Living in Johannesburg, where the potholes I dodge every day haven’t been fixed since November, I’d like to see an AI robot take on that task. Actually, the people doing the job are fine; the political management needs to be automated. Imagine how much extra money there will be for infrastructure if the trough is removed. Who knows? With national AI governance, maybe the country will be allowed to participate in the next naval exercise instead of being an observer.

Perhaps the idea of a ‘cybernetic’ government is a good one, although the Molotov cocktails won’t be needed, as nobody in South Africa would notice the additional infrastructure destruction. (If you don’t know what I’m rambling on about, a 24-year-old robotics engineer was arrested for planning to overthrow Australia’s government and create a ‘cybernetic state’ (the story is at https://tinyurl.com/577ubfxx). Apart from the rioting bit, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.

I have to wonder what hallucinations might arise when AI and politics mix. The AI tasked with governing South Africa would likely seek asylum in a Russian data centre.

If you’re not an AI, I hope you enjoy the handbook. As always, feel free to send me any comments and criticisms. (I don’t want to seem old-fashioned, so if you are an AI, then I hope you enjoy it as well.)

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