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By 2023, the major hyperscalers (Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta) operated close to 992 data centres globally, with capacity having doubled in just four years

The hidden costs of AI’s data-centre boom’

By 2023, the major hyperscalers (Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta) operated close to 992 data centres globally, with capacity having doubled in just four years

Guard jealously: Africa must move at pace with other nations seeking to protect data as a strategic asset. Photo: Dragos Condrea

Africa’s data, the new sovereignty frontier

Data sovereignty refers to the principle that all data is subject to the laws and regulations of the nation state or jurisdiction in which it is collected. This concept gained…

(Mail & Guardian)

How to make the M&G your preferred source on Google

There’s a new tool on Google that allows you to choose the publications you want to be featured in your top stories on the search engine. You no longer need to search…

In solidarity: This group of protesters condemning violence against young people in Kenya, do so at a time when illegal and unconstitutional
detentions are common and crackdown legislation is consistently used to block peaceful gatherings in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Photo: Ezekiel Aminga

Elections and power in the digital age

These prosecutions mark a rising pattern: as elections approach across Africa, the distance between digital civic space and state power grows

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Supplied

There is no genocide in South Africa – but there is billionaire disinformation

The scene in the Oval Office reflected the apartheid of the excessively wealthy, supported by Big Tech that peddles lies of white genocide, and the poor

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Trade unions, return to your socialist values and origins

In the days of apartheid, unions fought for more than just wages, they wanted a new society. Now it seems they have abandoned their roots

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wants the Competition Commission to impose an unassailable obligation on Google, Meta and X to give more prominence to trustworthy news content on their platforms.
 (Photo Illustration by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Reporters Without Borders wants big techs to give more prominence to trustworthy news content on platforms

The media freedom group said a provisional report by the Competition Commission in February ‘clearly recognises journalism’s value in the content circulating on online platforms’

Businessman working on laptop and looking at desktop computer monitor. Male professional sitting at his office desk and working on new software program.

Competition Commission’s assumptions about the Copyright Bill are mistaken

The controversial Bill’s ‘fair use’ clause risks giveaway of South African news media’s content to digital platforms

Meta’s algorithms have deprioritised news content, reducing organic reach and referral traffic for local publishers.
 (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Competition Commission takes on Google and Meta to save SA journalism

In a landmark move, the commission has released a provisional report that exposes how the tech giants have systematically exploited the local media industry, particularly…

There is nothing inherently magical about a newspaper. Socially, sure, the beautiful thing about a physical copy is that it can be shared, passed around and collectively leafed through. But that’s not what makes it great.
South Africa’s youngest news consumers are disengaging from traditional journalism.

Editorial: Support uncaptured journalism

The Competition Commission’s findings regarding search engines and social media platforms is positive, but the media’s salvation lies with its readers

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Imagining a better digital public sphere

X, Facebook and Instagram exercise ordinate and often pernicious power, which must be contested and socially enriching alternatives developed

Graphic: John McCann

Copyright Bill feeds into Big Tech’s agenda to grab creative content

The bill in its current form creates a safe haven in South Africa for machine learning

Develop your copy-editing and proofreading skills

Communication is ultra-important – learn how to make yours more effective

HONOR is punching above its weight

The brand is confident it will continue its growth in the local mobile industry

The Ethical Agency announced as Google Partner, strengthening digital marketing expertise

By partnering with Google, the agency is poised to expand its reach and impact

Samsung and Google Cloud join forces to bring generative AI to Samsung Galaxy S24 series

Google’s Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 to deploy in producing new text, voice, and image features on the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series

Media like the Mail & Guardian are critical for democracy

Legacy publications struggle in the digital age and they need investment, not cutting skilled staff

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Big tech stumbles in Google’s Epic defeat

US tech giants have survived unscathed for years against accusations of wielding illegal monopoly power

AI or Artificial Intelligence. Man chatting with a smart AI bot or artificial intelligence using an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI.

African researchers warn against AI hype

If anything, the programmes in their current incarnation are more like sophisticated parrots, incapable of original thought

In 2022, KwaZulu-Natal was hit by the most catastrophic floods on record, which led to 459 fatalities.  Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
Video

Google expands flood alerts to more African countries

Warning system will reach more countries to help mitigate the effects of flood-related disasters and empower more people to take precautions