Nigerian students build AI to detect fruit ripeness and reduce waste
At Caleb University in Lagos, Nigeria, three students are tackling one of agriculture’s oldest and most overlooked problems, determining fruit ripeness. The trio has developed an AI-powered app that can instantly assess whether a mango is ripe, underripe, or rotten, a breakthrough that could drastically cut post-harvest losses and...
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The deaf-led startup tackling deafness in rural Africa and beyond
In a world where hearing determines connection, education, and opportunity, deafness in off-grid regions of Africa tends to equal living in silence and solitude. But a pioneering startup in Botswana is rewriting this narrative, one solar-powered hearing aid at a time. Deaftronics, a proudly deaf-owned and operated business, developed...
Microsoft sacks 6,000 staff in biggest layoffs since 2023
Tech giant Microsoft has announced a further 6,000 staff layoffs after a year of continual job losses. The move will shrink the company’s workforce by approximately three percent. Microsoft announced this Tuesday that it would be letting go of more than 6,000 staff, shrinking its workforce by roughly three...
Study finds job interviews conducted by AI prone to discrimination
An Australian study has warned that job interviews orchestrated by AI have a higher chance of discrimination if they’re non-American or disabled. Videos of applicants sharing their experiences have also been making the rounds on TikTok. If finding a new job wasn’t already hard enough, a new study in...
New bill might force Apple to allow third party app stores
Called ‘The App Store Freedom Act,’ this new bill would legally require companies such as Apple and Google to allow other app stores and payment methods on their devices. The legal system looks set to diminish Apple and Google’s dominance over the app stores market. American politician Kat Cammack has...
Meta launches AI assistant app to rival ChatGPT
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has launched a stand-alone AI app that was previously only accessible across Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook called ‘Meta AI.’ It is aimed at rivalling ChatGPT and other similar products. Meta continues to push forward with its plans to utilise AI and compete with industry leaders such...
Spotify surpasses expectations with first quarter growth
Despite an uncertain market, Spotify has managed to survive the storm of tariffs and reluctant consumer spending. It continued to gain subscribers during the first quarter of the year. Well, one thing is for certain. Spotify isn’t going anywhere. The company just published its financial report for the first quarter of this year. Monthly active users grew 10% to 678 million, which is in line with its prior estimates. Paying,...
Duolingo to replace contract workers and prioritise AI
In a new statement, Duolingo CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn has said that the company will ‘gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle.’ One of the world’s biggest language learning apps is looking to shake up how its business fundamentally operates, with a greater emphasis on AI. Duolingo is an extremely popular service that sends daily alerts to users to practice and revise their knowledge...
Google pushes for some remote workers to return to office
The search giant Google is reportedly introducing a new hybrid work model. Employees will be asked to be in the office at least three days a week, with potential consequences for those unable to do so. It seems another major corporation is keen to get workers back into the office. According to reports, Google is enforcing a new three-day working week hybrid model. Employees will be expected to come into...
New report finds unsafe ‘energy-saving’ plugs easily available in UK
An investigation by ‘Which?’ finds that illegal and potentially dangerous plug-in ‘energy-saving’ devices are widely available to shoppers in the UK. They’re targeted toward consumers struggling with high energy bills. A new report and investigation by consumer body ‘Which?’ has found that illegal ‘energy-saving’ devices are easily accessible via online marketplaces in the UK, despite not being fit for purchase. ‘Eco plugs’ are sold as a way to ‘stabilise’ voltage,...
