Unified identity layer key to securing agentic AI
Silverfort will discuss AI’s impact on identity security at the ITWeb Security Summit in Johannesburg.
Science/Tech
New SASSA System Piloted In Bellville Office
The South African Social Security Agency is piloting new systems in Bellville, including biometrics, self-service kiosks, and smarter queue management to reduce waiting times. Digital tools, such as facial recognition and e-Life certification, aim to prevent fraud and allow beneficiaries to apply for grants without visiting offices. While queues have improved, there are concerns about […]
MPs raise alarm over vacant CIO post at Home Affairs
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs expresses concern over the vacant chief information officer position in the department.
AFL introduces advanced OTDR solutions for data centre, broadband network testing
The upgrades in AFL’s Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer portfolio are designed to improve operational performance and overall value, the company says.
CambriLearn on the right way to use AI in schools
While most schools are still drafting AI policies, CambriLearn is already deploying AI tools in classrooms.
Why IT strategies fail
How to develop an IT and cyber security strategic roadmap that business leaders will embrace.
TCS | The Cape Town start-up listening for TB with AI
How Cape Town start-up AI Diagnostics is teaching AI to hear the tuberculosis cases human clinicians often miss.
Can Investors Trust AI Sales Figures? Asks Wall Street Journal Opinion Piece
A Wall Street Journal opinion piece warns of “a troubling trend” in AI’s growth. “Rather than selling software, some AI companies are paying their partners to use it.” It cites OpenAI’s $1.5 billion joint venture with private-equity firms, Anthropic’s $200 million contribution to a private-equity firm joint venture, and Google’s $750 million subsidization of Gemini’s adoption by consulting...
US company plans to bring South Africa’s extinct bluebuck back to life
The bluebuck antelope joins the mammoth, dodo and dire wolf on Colossal Biosciences’ de-extinction list.
US-China tech split deepens
Washington has widened curbs on Chinese testing labs, data centres and telecoms carriers in its latest decoupling push.
GameStop guns for eBay
The videogame retailer and meme-stock star has built a 5% stake and lined up $20-billion in debt to pursue eBay.
What is hantavirus, the infection that has killed three people on a cruise ship?
Rodent-carried disease is not usually contagious between humans and outbreaks are rare. ‘New world’ variants are the most deadly. What are the symptoms and treatment?
Three passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The outbreak was reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was...
Two more officials suspended over AI policy debacle
Two unnamed officials face precautionary suspension as the fallout from the withdrawn draft AI policy widens further.
Starwatch: Eta Aquariid meteor shower bursts into the skies
Best seen before dawn, the shower will reach its peak on the night of 5–6 May
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower bursts upon the skies this week, reaching its peak on the night of 5–6 May.
Best seen before dawn, the chart shows the view looking east from London at 4am on 6 May. By this time, the shower’s radiant point will have climbed into the south-eastern sky.
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Roblox Blames Age-Verification Rollout for Lowered Growth. Stock Tumbles 22%
Age verification became mandatory for chat access on Roblox in January — and Friday morning Quartz reported it’s apparently impacted the company’s financials:Roblox cut its full-year 2026 bookings forecast by roughly $900 million at the midpoint on Thursday, blaming stronger-than-expected headwinds from its mandatory age-verification rollout on an audience that skews heavily toward children...
NetHack 5.0 Released
“So yesterday the Devteam (it is always the Devteam) released version 5.0 of legendary and venerable rogueike compuer game NetHack,” writes the Rogue-like games column @Play. “It is 39 years old…” MilenCent (Slashdot reader #219,397) writes: In addition to play changes it’s left for players to discover, this version updates the code to compile with C99, makes it much easier to cross compile the...
OpenAI Introduces AI-Generated Pets for Its Codex App
“Vibe coding just got a whole lot more adorable,” writes Engadget:OpenAI introduced AI-generated pets to the Codex app, its agentic tool that helps with coding. These “optional animated companions” don’t do any coding themselves, but serve as a floating overlay that can tell you what Codex is working on, notify you when Codex completes a task or whether it needs your input on something. The new...
Scientists discover 27 potential new planets that orbit two stars in solar systems far, far away
On ‘Star Wars day’, researchers more than double the number of potential known ‘circumbinary’ planets like the fictional Tatooine, home to Luke Skywalker
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Astronomers have discovered 27 new potential planets that orbit two stars, like the fictional desert planet Tatooine from the...
AI Cameras are Being Deployed Across the Western US for Early Detection of Wildfires
The Associated Press reports:On a March afternoon, artificial intelligence detected something resembling smoke on a camera feed from Arizona’s Coconino National Forest. Human analysts verified it wasn’t a cloud or dust, then alerted the state’s forest service and largest electric utility. One of dozens of AI cameras installed for the utility Arizona Public Service had spotted early signs of...
‘They know they’re safe’: beagles saved from US research facility after protests
Big Dog Ranch Rescue made deal to buy 1,500 dogs from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin breeding and research facility
The first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe.
“They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one...
Carbon Pollution Is Making Food Less Nutritious, Risking the Health of Billions
A new meta-analysis found nutrients in food decreased over the last 40 years, reports the Washington Post. “Many of humanity’s most important crops — including wheat, potatoes, beans — contain fewer vitamins and minerals than they did a generation ago.” “The invisible culprit behind this damaging phenomenon? Carbon dioxide pollution.”Surging concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere,...