diff --git a/.python-version b/.python-version
index 4351a7e..2739029 100644
--- a/.python-version
+++ b/.python-version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-3.8.7
+3.9.17
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 0fa116c..2b76203 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
-FROM python:3.8-slim
+FROM python:3.9-slim
 ARG install_dev=n
 
 USER root
 
+RUN apt-get update \
+  && apt-get install --assume-yes --quiet --quiet gcc g++ \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 ENV PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1
 
 WORKDIR /peerscout
diff --git a/requirements.spacy.txt b/requirements.spacy.txt
index 7f54680..c08f985 100644
--- a/requirements.spacy.txt
+++ b/requirements.spacy.txt
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-spacy==2.2.4
+numpy==1.24.4
+spacy==2.3.9