MONDAY, 24 MARCH 2025, 07:32
South Africa’s electricity tariffs have surged by 190% since 2014, driven by Eskom’s rising costs and declining sales, leading to a cycle of escalating prices and increased adoption of alternative energy sources.
Web infrastructure provider Cloudflare unveiled “AI Labyrinth” this week, a feature designed to thwart unauthorized AI data scraping by feeding bots realistic but irrelevant content instead of blocking them outright. The system lures crawlers into a “maze” of AI-generated pages containing neutral scientific information, deliberately wasting computing resources of those attempting to collect...
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is pushing to cut bureaucracy by reducing management layers, according to a recording of a recent internal all-hands meeting obtained by Business Insider. Amazon plans to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15% by March-end, a process the company says is now complete and affected a “relatively small subset of employees.” “The way to get ahead at...
Hollywood filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch has been charged with defrauding Netflix of $11 million after allegedly misusing funds intended for an unfinished science fiction series, federal prosecutors said. Rinsch, 47, was arrested in West Hollywood this week on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions that could result in decades of imprisonment if convicted. The...
Lara Lewington explores how technology and AI are transforming what it means to be human.
Apple has been hit with a federal lawsuit claiming that the company’s promotion of now-delayed Apple Intelligence features constituted false advertising and unfair competition. From a report: The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, seeks class action status and unspecified financial damages on behalf of those who purchased Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones and other...
Meta is testing an AI feature that generates comment suggestions for Instagram posts. Users with access to the test see a pencil icon beside the comment field that activates “Write with Meta AI.” The system analyzes photos before offering three comment suggestions, which users can refresh for alternatives. For a photo showing someone smiling with a thumbs-up in their living room, suggested...
Promise was central plank to space agency’s Artemis program, which is scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2027
Nasa has dropped its longstanding public commitment to land the first woman and person of color on the moon, in response to Donald Trump’s directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at federal agencies.
The promise was a central plank of the...
Firefly Aerospace’s successful moon lander has yielded a trove of data that scientists will pore over for years.
Higher use of chatbots like ChatGPT may correspond with increased loneliness and less time spent socializing with other people, according to new research from OpenAI in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From a report: Those who spent more time typing or speaking with ChatGPT each day tended to report higher levels of emotional dependence on, and problematic use of, the...
Hungryroot is a shockingly innovative meal kit. Though the results can be more like fast-casual meal assembly than cooking.
In the world of fintech, resilience and adaptability are paramount. Few stories embody this better than Wonga South Africa’s transformation under the leadership of Brett, its CEO. In a candid conversation, Brett sheds light on the company’s journey, from its global origins to the local strategies that have redefined short-term credit in South Africa. Here’s […]
The U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions watchdog removed cryptocurrency mixing tool Tornado Cash from its global blacklist on Friday, following a federal appeals court ruling last November that the Office of Foreign Asset Control couldn’t sanction its smart contracts. Despite the delisting of over 100 Ethereum addresses from the Specially Designated Nationals list, Treasury Secretary Scott...
Microsoft has begun urging Windows 10 users to upgrade their systems ahead of the October 14, 2025 support deadline, but with a solution many find impractical: just buy a new computer. According to StatCounter data, 58.7% of Windows users remain on Windows 10 despite the impending end of security updates and technical assistance. In emails to Windows 10 users, Microsoft’s primary recommendation...
A union says it should instead pay drivers more so they can take time off with their families.
Yahoo on Friday said it has struck a deal to sell TechCrunch, the 20-year-old tech journalism site, to Regent, a media investment firm. Axios: Yahoo’s business centers mostly on aggregation. Journalism isn’t its core focus. Regent is trying to pull together a portfolio of tech news sites and is eager to invest in news. Earlier this week, it acquired Foundry, which houses a slew of online tech...
Google has filed a lawsuit against alleged scammers who created and sold fake business profiles on Google Maps, the company said. The legal action follows an investigation that uncovered and eliminated more than 10,000 illegitimate listings. The investigation began after a Texas business reported an unlicensed locksmith impersonating them on the platform. Google discovered the scams primarily...
These WIRED-tested memory sticks are a virtual filing cabinet in your pocket.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government over its use of takedown orders to request social media content be removed.
This just might be the perfect monitor for the home office.
We have an opportunity to build systems that don’t just replicate our current inequities. Will we take them?
The notion that artificial intelligence could help reduce racism might seem counterintuitive. After all, we’ve seen numerous headlines about AI systems perpetuating or even amplifying racial biases. Yet as we enter 2025, amid both a backlash against social justice initiatives and the...