I’m Dr. Karl Morris, and I’m running to be the U.S. congressperson for Pennsylvania’s Third congressional district. I’m an educator and computer scientist who believes we need representatives who are better equipped to handle not only the issues of today, but the challenges of tomorrow.

On June 30, Dwight Evans, the incumbent representative, announced he would not seek reelection at the end of his current term. This triggered a flurry of announcements and speculation regarding which Harrisburg politician would fill his seat. We heard familiar names: Street, Rabb, and Cephas, to name a few, and this all felt normal. It’s the way local politics works.

There’s a long-held truism in Philadelphia politics: start at the bottom and wait your turn. Want to run for Congress? First, run for dogcatcher. This gets parroted so often by establishment politicians it’s become gospel. Someone who hints at running for office is repeatedly faced with the question, “What office have you held before?”

This is a conflation of issues. The tautological and incorrect assumption is to be a successful politician and legislator, you must already be a politician and legislator. Instead of examining the skills needed for the job, we sidestep the task and accept the narrative that they need only be career politicians, treating public service like a jobs program with automatic matriculation.

Neither the Constitutions of the country nor commonwealth establish a political class, yet we’ve become accustomed to and accepting of this nepotistic and exclusionary aristocracy. For the sake of all Philadelphians, let’s break this mindset. Let’s elect representatives who show they’re up to the task at hand.

So what is the task? While modern advancements in AI, cryptocurrencies, and self-driving cars have valuable potential, they also have us careening toward an inflection point like nothing we’ve seen in 100 years. Digital systems are now custodians of our health data and make decisions about care. AI could displace many white-collar jobs, requiring interventions like Universal Basic Income. Cryptocurrencies will challenge common notions of financial markets. Autonomous vehicles will revolutionize transportation, redefining concepts like ownership and liability.

These and other advances will have a huge impact on society. Benefits will be great, but so will casualties. The representatives we elect will need to be equipped with knowledge about these new technologies, their capabilities, and their downsides, to ensure our rights and freedoms are protected. Something different is needed besides the advancement of career politicians we’ve been told to accept. I believe I can be that difference.

I moved from Jamaica to the United States in 2006, a naturalized citizen who shares the immigrant story of many Philadelphians. I’ve been a professor of computer science at Temple University since 2014 and have spent almost every professional and scholastic endeavor focusing on the intersection of technology and communities. I’ve worked with governments, companies, schools, churches, and nonprofits on technological projects to help society, especially the poor and disenfranchised. I’ve participated in cutting-edge research, such as my doctoral work in autonomous decision-making, my current work in detecting Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments using AI, and helping develop one of the world’s first central bank digital currencies. I’ve also spent the past decade running coding workshops that target minoritized students in Philadelphia who are underexposed, underresourced, and underrepresented in STEM.

I’ve spent years doing the work — whether advocating for better-resourced schools, or volunteering with food missions to address the most basic human need. Helping my community has been my driving force. I want to continue the work of improving lives while also preparing for what’s to come. I understand the complexity and impact of future technologies and the important role lawmakers play. I have what it takes to represent the interests of my district and Philadelphia at large. I believe we need something different. That is why I’m running for Congress.

Learn more at karlforcongress.us.