April 11
Nigeria: Technology Makes It Easy for Lawyers to Work Across Borders - Regulations Should Too
The rules of legal practice are highly localised. Every country sets rules that determine how lawyers qualify professionally and what they are allowed to do. Read more »
April 03
Africa: Even Hands-Free, Phones and Their Apps Cause Dangerously Distracted Driving
Do you ever use your cellphone while driving? Don't feel too guilty about saying yes - nearly 60% of drivers admit to using their phone in hands-free mode while driving. Read more »
April 01
Africa: Undersea Cables Are the Unseen Backbone of the Global Internet
Have you ever wondered how an email sent from New York arrives in Sydney in mere seconds, or how you can video chat with someone on the other side of the globe with barely a hint… Read more »
March 31
South Africa: Zimbabwean Migration to South Africa - How Technology Helps Keep Families Together
Political instability and economic decline in Zimbabwe have accelerated migration to South Africa in the last two decades. Because of the overriding socio-economic focus of the… Read more »
March 26
Madagascar: We Built an AI Tool to Help Set Priorities for Conservation in Madagascar - What We Found
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - models that process large and diverse datasets and make predictions from them - can have many uses in nature conservation, such as remote monitoring… Read more »
March 17
Africa: Something Felt 'Off' - How AI Messed With Our Human Research, and What We Learned
All levels of research are being changed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Don't have time to read that journal article? AI-powered tools such as TLDRthis will summarise… Read more »
March 15
Africa: Undersea Cables for Africa's Internet Retrace History and Leave Digital Gaps As They Connect Continents
Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the… Read more »
March 11
South Africa: Technology to Protect South Africa's Oceans - Experts Find That a Data-Driven Monitoring System Is Paying Off
Nine years ago South Africa put in place an innovative information management system designed to monitor and protect its seas. The country is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian… Read more »
March 06
West Africa: West Africa's Coast Was a Haven for Piracy and Illegal Fishing - How Technology Is Changing the Picture
The Gulf of Guinea - a coastal region that stretches from Senegal to Angola - is endowed with vast reserves of hydrocarbon, mineral and fisheries resources. It is also an important… Read more »
February 27
Africa: Africa Needs China for Its Digital Development - but At What Price?
Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong… Read more »
January 23
Africa: The Top Risks From Technology That We'll Be Facing By the Year 2040
Bewilderingly rapid changes are happening in the technology and reach of computer systems. There are exciting advances in artificial intelligence, in the masses of tiny… Read more »
January 18
Africa: Ai Weiwei Says Art That Can Be Replicated By AI Is 'Meaningless' - Philosopher Explains What That Means for the Future of Art
Ai Weiwei, China's most famous dissident and artist, has called art that can be easily replicated by artificial intelligence (AI) "meaningless". What I find most striking about… Read more »
Africa: Excessive Social Media Use During the Covid-19 Pandemic Exacerbated Adolescent Mental Health Challenges
How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth? Read more »
December 18, 2023
Africa: How Technology Can Help Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence is a major public health concern. According to Statistics Canada, in 2018, 44 per cent of women experienced some form of intimate partner violence in… Read more »
December 06, 2023
Africa: Rural Communities Are Being Left Behind Because of Poor Digital Infrastructure, Research Shows
In an era where businesses and households depend on the internet for everything from marketing to banking and shopping, the lack of adequate digital access can be a significant… Read more »
November 29, 2023
Africa: How AI Could Reveal Secrets of Thousands of Handwritten Documents
Have you ever struggled to read what that scrawl between "carrots" and "potatoes" is on your shopping list? Soon, artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help. Read more »
November 28, 2023
Africa: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year - Authentic - Reflects Growing Concerns Over AI's Ability to Deceive and Dehumanize
When Merriam-Webster announced that its word of the year for 2023 was "authentic," it did so with over a month to go in the calendar year. Read more »
November 30, 2023
Africa: 'Baldur's Gate 3' Became the Surprise Hit of 2023 By Upending Conventional Wisdom About What Gives Video Games Broad Appeal
Few predicted that the smash hit video game of 2023 would feature old-school game mechanics, hours of brooding cutscenes and a vexing learning curve. Read more »
November 29, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT Turns 1 - AI Chatbot's Success Says As Much About Humans As Technology
ChatGPT was launched on Nov. 30, 2022, ushering in what many have called artificial intelligence's breakout year. Within days of its release, ChatGPT went viral. Screenshots of… Read more »
November 14, 2023
Africa: Should the Media Tell You When They Use AI to Report the News? What Consumers Should Know
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the media landscape, both for news organisations and consumers. Applications such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing AI are creating new… Read more »
November 21, 2023
South Africa: A Free Messaging App Seemed Useful for Disadvantaged South African Students
South African higher education is plagued by inequalities due to the social and economic legacies of apartheid. Read more »
November 19, 2023
South Africa: South African University Students Use AI to Help Them Understand - Not to Avoid Work
When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, it sparked many conversations and moral panics. These centre on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the information… Read more »
November 02, 2023
Ethiopia: Whose Job Will AI Replace? Here's Why a Clerk in Ethiopia Has More to Fear Than One in California
Artificial intelligence is changing the world - and one of the main areas it will affect in the short-to-medium term is the workforce. Read more »
Africa: Social Media Content in Times of War - An Expert Guide On How to Keep Violence Off Your Feeds
Social media platforms are a great source of information and entertainment. They also help us to maintain contact with friends and family. But social media can also - and has,… Read more »
October 23, 2023
Africa: How Much Time Do Kids Spend On Devices - Playing Games, Watching Videos, Texting and Using the Phone?
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Read more »