NASA readies its JWST successor: Nancy Grace Roman Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope has allowed us to peer further into the cosmos than ever before in its first 15 months, but NASA is already planning for its successor to take the reins before 2027. Let’s look at the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. Our knowledge of the great...
Current in Tech
How personalised ads are contributing to climate change
A new report from Global Action Plan analysing the scale of unnecessary emissions being generated by Big Tech’s business model has uncovered just how energy intensive it really is. Recently, it’s become all but impossible to use social media without being constantly bombarded with ads. And while online marketing is nothing...
Spotify is pivoting toward short-form video content
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced a newly designed user interface that prioritises short-form video and quick preview snippets. It is the latest app to follow TikTok’s design model. Spotify is rolling out a new user interface that focuses on short-form video content. Previous iterations of the app displayed albums,...
WhatsApp could end UK services over upcoming Online Safety Bill
The UK’s Online Safety Bill is due to come into effect by the end of this year, but its rules conflict with WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption feature. The messaging app’s leaders are refusing to weaken their privacy standards when 98 percent of its users are located elsewhere. For most users of...
ChatGPT-4 is OpenAI’s most powerful language tool yet
There is no slowing the meteoric rise of generative AI, and OpenAI has just rolled out its most powerful model yet, ChatGPT-4. What’s different with the latest iteration? Of the many Silicon Valley giants vying to own the generative AI space, Microsoft has struck gold with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Following its full-scale...
The ChatGPT black market is thriving in China
China clamped down on access to ChatGPT last month, announcing its own generative AI chatbot ‘ERNIE Bot,’ arriving in March. This has since ignited an illicit marketplace for OpenAI’s hot property software within China. The commercial road-map for novel chatbots has been established: complete integration into their parent company’s internet...
Could Sunzaun solar panels be the future of green energy?
A company in California has created a vertical solar panel that allows agriculture and green energy to co-exist. Solar panels are one of the most promising sources for green energy, with over 1 million different sites in the UK alone. With the disastrous effects of climate change already impacting people all around the globe, renewable energy is more important than ever. However, traditional horizontal solar panels often use space that was...
Rwanda to receive satellite internet service Starlink from SpaceX
In an innovative undertaking, Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service is set to be deployed in Rwanda, bringing high-speed internet access to the most underserved communities in East Africa. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report, Rwanda has a high uptake in ITC growth, and is developing Africa’s first wireless broadband network covering the entire country. In schools, Rwanda has made a concerted effort to improve internet connectivity and...
Why the Facemega deepfake app is a slippery slope
Accessing deepfake technology is getting easier. With the majority of people choosing to use it for sinister reasons, it’s hard to ignore that the negative consequences of the novel tech might outweigh its benefits. The negative and dangerous consequences of deepfakes have been heatedly discussed since AI technology made its way into the mainstream in 2017. Experts have warned that their widespread use, combined with constantly improving AI learning systems,...
Online eBook platform Z-Library makes comeback
Z-library, an illegal online collection of eBooks, is beloved by both college students and romance novel fans. It is back after being seized last November by the FBI. The ‘shadow library’ has hosted free (and illegal) downloads from a selection of over 11 million eBooks since 2009. However, its surging popularity on TikTok in 2022 turned the site from open-secret to open-target, as groups like the Authors Guild began to...
