The African > Technology

Trust deficit in tech devices hits elections credibility

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 06:00:00 GMT

A Voter Management Device captures a voter’s details. They were used for the first time in the municipal elections of 2021 in South Africa. – Picture: Henk Kruger / African News Agency (ANA) / Taken November 1, 2021By Sizo NkalaSouth Africa’s recently concluded national and provincial elections have shone the spotlight on the role of technology in electoral and democratic processes.

2023 Ushers in the year of the ‘Taming of Big Tech’ Globally

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:09:00 GMT

Picture: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP - An illustration picture taken in London on December 18, 2020 shows the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone and a laptop screen. - The European Union on December previously unveiled tough draft rules targeting tech giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook, whose power Brussels sees as a threat to competition and even democracy.

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Is the 4th Industrial Revolution worth it?

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Laurent Gillieron/EPA – As the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) continues to disrupt all industries with artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning (ML), to name a few, the world of work is changing at lightning speed. Indeed, the concept of a “job” itself, which was created by the First Industrial Revolution, may well be destroyed by the Fourth.

Industrial Revolutions, Youth and Inequality

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA) – Cloud Support Engineer Tebogo Mpati with grade 9 learner Sibongile Khotseng during a Python Bootcamp facilitated by local NGO, International Certification in Digital Literacy (ICDL). Curro Foreshore, an independent high-school within Curro’s DigiEd model that delivers education in a technology-rich format, held an intensive Python Coding Bootcamp at their campus between February 19 and 21, 2020.

Our future artificial intelligence overlords need a resistance movement

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 06:56:00 GMT

Picture: Supplied - Artificial intelligence is of the fastest-growing fields in the world. By Parmy OlsonArtificial intelligence has been moving so fast that even the scientists are finding it hard to keep up. In the past year, machine learning algorithms have started to generate rudimentary movies and stunning fake photographs.

US terror alert undermines solidarity, SA’s sovereignty

Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA) – The annual Gay Pride parade went ahead as planned in Sandton despite a warning by the US government of a potential terrorist attack. The SA government deployed a substantial police presence to the march, says the writer. By Sizo NkalaOn October 26, the US embassy in South Africa issued a terror alert claiming that: “The US government has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of pe. . .

Fostering sustainable innovation in SA, one idea at a time

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Natania Botha – Moliehi Mafantiri, co-founder of BARALI. Barali’s (pronounced Baradi) black woman-owned design firm has two branches. The first is a sustainable homeware brand and the second, a brand and design consultancy. By Dominic NaidooOver the weekend, I had the honour and privilege of being invited to participate in Africa’s first ever Regional Climate Change Conference of Youth (RCOY), which took place at Gauteng’s Innovation Hub in Lynnwood, Pretoria.

‘Social media platforms must uphold democratic values’

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 02:00:00 GMT

By Dr Noluthando PhungulaSocial media has become central to most people’s lives and presents an important platform for political participation and public discourse. Initially celebrated for their potential, digital technologies, particularly platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have come under increasing scrutiny for undermining human and political rights.

What happened when Twitter and other social media platforms cracked down on extremists

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 05:50:00 GMT

Picture: Reuters/Kacper Pempel/Illustration – ‘I think we’ve entered a new phase in which social media has altered and warped how we encounter information, how we process it, how we internalise what counts as the truth. It’s having significant impacts on our democracy,’ the writer says. By AC ThompsonSince Donald Trump’s election in 2016, an entire ecosystem of right-wing social media platforms has come into existence — from Gab (where the alleged Pittsburgh synagogue shooter posted hateful scree. . .

The gains of 4IR in Africa

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:00:00 GMT

File picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA) - Components of the ZACUBE 2 diagram are shown at a previous plenary briefing hosted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa. The ZACube2 was designed as part of leading South Africa's 4th Industrial Revolution. By Tshilidzi MarwalaIs Africa on par with the rest of the world where the 4th Industrial Revolution ( 4IR) is concerned?We are certainly not on par with the rest of the world when it comes to the 4IR.

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Data Sovereignty and African integration: The time is now

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 09:00:00 GMT

Graphic: ddzphoto/Pixabay - Africa should work towards the harmonisation of the legal and technical data management and regulation standards, says the writer. By David MonyaeThe regulation and legislation of the ownership and control of data produced and generated in a particular jurisdiction – data sovereignty – has become a global buzzword.

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This electric three-wheeler brings greener delivery options

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:15:00 GMT

An ElectraMeccanica SOLO car at the company's production facility in Canada in 2018. Picture: Ben Nelms/BloombergBy Ira BoudwayIn June, the electric bike startup Joco, which rents e-bikes to food delivery workers and other couriers in New York City and Chicago, began testing a new vehicle called the Deliverator.

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Massive reform needed to protect our personal information

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 15:59:00 GMT

By Michele van Eck and Samantha HunebergSouth Africa, like many other countries in Africa and the world over, has in recent years seen an amplification of discourse around the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). While the flurry ofconversations around 4IR have helped awaken the consciousness of people, questions remain about whether, and to what extent, we are actualising its currency, in terms of the opportunities and benefits it brings while mitigating the risks associated with it.