South African teenagers build solar-powered train
Amid South Africa’s power cuts, a group of students built the country’s first fully solar-powered train. The power outages have caused disruptions affecting poor and working-class commuters relying on trains. A group of 20 South African students from Soshanguve Technical School recently showcased a fully solar-powered train at a...
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Google’s failed balloon-based tech utilised to develop laser internet
Google’s plan to bring internet connections to remote regions was a noble one, but its balloon-based project failed to get off the ground. Fortunately, however, that same tech has helped to inspire a more promising avenue involving laser communications and the cloud. Providing remote regions with solid internet connections has...
Crypto addiction is becoming a serious problem
For most young people, crypto trading is mostly a fun and recreational way of making some extra money. For some though, its lack of regulation and changeable nature can spark a slippery slope to addiction. With cryptocurrency’s rapid and seemingly ceaseless surge onto the mainstream, addictions associated with digital trading...
AI smart helmets could help firefighters improve rescue missions
Researchers in Scotland have developed a smart helmet for firefighters which uses integrated AI. This tech is intended to map out areas with low visibility and find victims faster. Technology for the betterment of humanity is our favourite kind, and what we’re talking about here is a modest change for...
Opinion – Eminem and Snoop Dogg shouldn’t be shilling NFTs
Both Eminem and Snoop Dogg performed at the MTV Annual Video Music Awards almost entirely using Bored Ape NFTs. It’s depressing to see two iconic artists so insistent on shilling unwanted crypto junk to the public. Earlier this year, Eminem and Snoop Dogg released a collaborative track called ‘From...
Opinion – Why HS2 may be a huge infrastructural failure
The new high-speed railway will connect Manchester, Birmingham, and London as part of government efforts to ‘level-up’ the North. But with numerous contingencies, mounting costs, and environmental damages, HS2 might be the biggest major infrastructure failure in recent memory. HS2 was first proposed by Labour government in 2009. A massive...
Virtual rapper FN Meka dropped from Capitol Records
FN Meka is an AI rapper that was signed to Capitol Records two weeks ago. After racist lyrics and depictions of police brutality were discovered the bot was quickly dropped. Are computer-generated artists set to become an industry staple? You may remember we wrote about AI voice technology that can mimic famous artists such as Eminem, Nirvana, and Kanye West early last year. As deep fake robotics continue to...
Researchers are using AI to predict criminal activity
AI is reportedly capable of predicting where crimes will take place up to a week ahead of time. The tech’s accuracy is around 90%, but there are concerns about its potential to perpetuate biases. It may sound like something straight from the Bat Cave, but this tech exists for real and may even be widely utilised in the near future. Scientists have reportedly found a way of predicting when and where...
Kenya introduces coding to school curriculum
Kenya is the first African country to introduce coding as a subject in both primary and secondary schools curricula. The new initiative focuses on redefining education through tech employment. Kenya plans to empower Gen Zers and future generation through tech-focused employment programs. East Africa’s economic powerhouse is already a spot for giant tech companies such as Visa, Microsoft, and Google who all have physical centres in Nairobi. Kenya’s young population...
Instagram’s new tool allows users to block weight loss ads
The option for Instagram users to customise their targeted ads was introduced in early June, with a ‘body weight control’ category only added this week. Is this enough to stifle the toxic culture that festers within the appearance-obsessed platform? Amidst the rise of body positive values in marketing tactics and amongst the general public, you’d think we’d no longer have to deal with inadvertently being shown weight loss adverts on...
