Author: The Conversation

By MJ (Thinus) Booysen, Stellenbosch University and Joshua Sello, Stellenbosch University The minibus taxi is ubiquitous in southern Africa. These vehicles are the backbone of the urban economy, providing affordable mobility for millions. In Cape Town, South Africa’s second most populous city, they are central to the transport landscape. Around two-thirds of the city’s public transport users rely on paratransit services (which respond flexibly to demand), carrying about 830,000 daily passengers across 1,466 routes, and run by private individuals or associations rather than the state. Minibus taxis in Cape Town, South Africa. But because these vehicles run on petrol and…

By Britta Rennkamp, University of Cape Town; Andrew Marquard, University of Cape Town; Gina Ziervogel, University of Cape Town; Harald Winkler, University of Cape Town; Mark New, University of Cape Town; Melanie Murcott, University of Cape Town; Ralph Hamann, University of Cape Town, and Wikus Kruger, University of Cape Town The South African minister of electricity and energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is proposing to suspend the country’s carbon tax after experiencing pressure from fossil fuel lobbies. The carbon tax is based on a “polluter pays” principle under the Carbon Tax Act, which increases the cost of fossil fuel-intensive activities. When the…

Lived experiences shape how science is conducted. This matters because who gets to speak for science steers which problems are prioritized, how evidence is translated into practice and who ultimately benefits from scientific advances. For researchers whose communities have not historically been represented in science – including many people of color, LGBTQ+ and first-generation scientists – identity is intertwined with how they engage in and share their work. As researchers who ourselves belong to communities that have been underrepresented in science, we work with scientists from marginalized backgrounds to study how they navigate STEM – science, technology, engineering and math…

By Gijsbert Hoogendoorn, University of Johannesburg; Anneli Douglas, University of Pretoria, and Greg Richards, Tilburg University Creative tourism is a growing form of travel where visitors learn by taking part in hands-on, culturally rooted activities. These can include classes in local cooking, craft workshops or music sessions. Tourism researchers Anneli Douglas, Gijsbert Hoogendoorn and Greg Richards investigated what kinds of tourism in this niche appeal to South African millennials (defined as those born between 1981 and 1996). Here they share some ideas about expanding creative tourism so that it can help create jobs and opportunities in low-income and rural communities.…

Valentina Dargam, Florida International University and Joshua Hutcheson, Florida International University When someone opens the door and enters a hospital room, wearing a stethoscope is a telltale sign that they’re a clinician. This medical device has been around for over 200 years and remains a staple in the clinic despite significant advances in medical diagnostics and technologies. The stethoscope is a medical instrument used to listen to and amplify the internal sounds produced by the body. Physicians still use the sounds they hear through stethoscopes as initial indicators of heart or lung diseases. For example, a heart murmur or crackling…

From the earliest year of school, children begin learning how to express ideas in different ways. Lines across a page, a wobbly letter, or a simple drawing form the foundation for how we share meaning beyond spoken language. Over time, those first marks evolve into complex ideas. Children learn to combine words with visuals, express abstract concepts, and recognise how images, symbols and design carry meaning in different situations. But generative artificial intelligence (AI), software that creates content based on user prompts, is reshaping these fundamental skills. AI is changing how people create, edit and present both text and images.…

Walk into a shop, board a plane, log into your bank, or scroll through your social media feed, and chances are you might be asked to scan your face. Facial recognition and other kinds of face-based biometric technology are becoming an increasingly common form of identification. The technology is promoted as quick, convenient and secure – but at the same time it has raised alarm over privacy violations. For instance, major retailers such as Kmart have been found to have broken the law by using the technology without customer consent. So are we seeing a dangerous technological overreach or the…

Leah Davina Junck, University of Cape Town and Rachel Adams, University of Cape Town Artificial intelligence or AI uses computers to perform tasks that would normally have needed human intelligence. Today AI is being put to use in many aspects of everyday life, like virtual banking assistants, health chatbots, self-driving cars, even the recommendations you see on social media. A new survey of over 3,000 South Africans from all walks of life asked how people feel about AI. It reveals that most South Africans can’t relate to AI in meaningful ways – despite the global hype about its pros and…

Yaseera Ismail, Stellenbosch University A major breakthrough in quantum technology was achieved in October 2024: the first-ever quantum satellite communication link between China and South Africa. The connection spanned a remarkable 12,900km: the longest intercontinental quantum communication link established to date. The longest before this was 7,600km and within the northern hemisphere only. It was achieved with quantum key distribution, a method for a sender and receiver to share a secure key that they can use to safely send messages. Any interception during transmission leaves traces that can be detected. It involves sending single photons (tiny particles of light). If…

In his 2019 State of the Nation address, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he was creating a commission on the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The term refers to the integration of advanced digital technologies like AI and robotics, as well as automation, into various economic and social domains. The first (1760s to early 1800s), second (1870s to early 1900s) and third (1950s to late 20th century) industrial revolutions were mechanical and electronic in nature. The 4IR is characterised by the fusion of physical, digital and biological systems. It is fundamentally reshaping industries, work and societies. Ramaphosa acknowledged at…

People find love in many ways and through diverse mediums. Online platforms have become popular meeting places for people looking to find intimate partners, making them a prime target for cybercriminals. Online romance fraud has become a global phenomenon. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US, romance scams accounted for losses to about 24,000 Americans, exceeding US$1 billion, in 2022. On the African continent, Nigeria and Ghana have emerged as hubs for internet fraud. The “Yahoo Boys” operating in Nigeria and “Sakawa Boys” in Ghana have a reputation for engaging in various fraudulent schemes, including online romance…

American president Donald Trump has issued an executive order to withdraw aid from South Africa. He was reacting to what he has called the South African government’s plan to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”. Afrikaners are an ethnic and linguistic community of white South Africans whose home language is Afrikaans. Trump’s outrage is based on a misinterpretation of a new law – the Expropriation Act which came into effect in January 2025. Trump’s action, amplified by provocative comments from billionaire Elon Musk, has reignited debate about the concept of “white victimhood”. We asked Nicky Falkof, who has…

The practice of medicine has undergone an incredible, albeit incomplete, transformation over the past 50 years, moving steadily from a field informed primarily by expert opinion and the anecdotal experience of individual clinicians toward a formal scientific discipline. The advent of evidence-based medicine meant clinicians identified the most effective treatment options for their patients based on quality evaluations of the latest research. Now, precision medicine is enabling providers to use a patient’s individual genetic, environmental and clinical information to further personalize their care. The potential benefits of precision medicine also come with new challenges. Importantly, the amount and complexity of…

Imagine attending a funeral where the person who has died speaks directly to you, answering your questions and sharing memories. This happened at the funeral of Marina Smith, a Holocaust educator who died in 2022. Thanks to an AI technology company called StoryFile, Smith seemed to interact naturally with her family and friends. The system used prerecorded answers combined with artificial intelligence to create a realistic, interactive experience. This wasn’t just a video; it was something closer to a real conversation, giving people a new way to feel connected to a loved one after they’re gone. Virtual life after death…

Meta has announced it will abandon its fact-checking program, starting in the United States. It was aimed at preventing the spread of online lies among more than 3 billion people who use Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads. In a video, the company’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg, said fact checking had led to “too much censorship”. He added it was time for Meta “to get back to our roots around free expression”, especially following the recent presidential election in the US. Zuckerberg characterised it as a “cultural tipping point, towards once again prioritising speech”. Instead of relying on…

Around the world, cards and apps are the default way to pay – but nowhere is the transition away from cash more obvious than in Sweden. The Bank of Sweden notes that the amount of cash in circulation in the country has halved since 2007. Part of this is due to a unique Swedish law that prioritises “freedom of contract” above any legal requirement to accept cash. In other words, it is up to businesses – including banks – whether they take cash. Public transport, stores and services typically do not accept cash as payment, and there is no infrastructure…

Natasha Joseph, The Conversation Whether we’re socialising, shopping, banking, studying or working, billions of people around the world spend hours each day online. This digital immersion has many benefits – and plenty of pitfalls, too. Here are just a few of the articles we’ve published by academics who specialise in various aspects of online safety. They’re packed full of cautionary tales and expert advice for keeping your digital spaces safe. Identifying online scams Think it’s only the digitally unsophisticated who get trapped by online scammers? Think again. Cybersecurity expert Thembekile Olivia Mayayise warns that even some of the most seasoned…

About one-third of the global population, around 3 billion people, don’t have access to the internet or have poor connections because of infrastructure limitations, economic disparities and geographic isolation. Today’s satellites and ground-based networks leave communications gaps where, because of geography, setting up traditional ground-based communications equipment would be too expensive. High-altitude platform stations – telecommunications equipment positioned high in the air, on uncrewed balloons, airships, gliders and airplanes – could increase social and economic equality by filling internet connectivity gaps in ground and satellite coverage. This could allow more people to participate fully in the digital age. One of…

For more than a decade, researchers and journalists have relied on a digital tool called CrowdTangle to track and fight the spread of viral falsehoods online. But earlier this week, the owner of CrowdTangle, Meta, shut the tool down. The tech giant has replaced it with its new Content Library, which it says will serve the same purpose and be “more user friendly”. As long-time users of CrowdTangle to track and analyse online misinformation campaigns, we are sceptical of this claim. We are also very concerned by the fact CrowdTangle’s closure comes at a time when misinformation on social media…

A massive IT outage is currently affecting computer systems worldwide. In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, reports indicate computers at banks, media organisations, hospitals, transport services, shop checkouts, airports and more have all been impacted. Today’s outage is unprecedented in its scale and severity. The technical term for what has happened to the affected computers is that they have been “bricked”. This word refers to those computers being rendered so useless by this outage that – at least for now – they may as well be bricks. The widespread outage has been linked to a piece of software called CrowdStrike…

A major IT outage has hit businesses across the world, grounding planes as well as affecting banks and the healthcare sector. George Kurtz, CEO of IT security firm Crowdstrike, said it had traced the issue to a “defect found in a single content update” for the security software it provides for the Microsoft Windows operating system on computers. Microsoft said the issue was caused by an “update from a third-party software platform” and that the “underlying cause” had now been fixed. The Conversation spoke to Professor Alan Woodward, an expert in cybersecurity at the University of Surrey, about what went…

by Layckan Van Gensen, Stellenbosch University Leanne Manas is a familiar face on South African televisions. Towards the end of 2023 the morning news presenter’s face showed up somewhere else: in bogus news stories and fake advertisements in which “she” appeared to promote various products or get-rich-quick schemes. It quickly emerged that Manas had fallen victim to “deepfaking”. Deepfakes involve the use of artificial intelligence tools to manipulate images, video and audio. And it doesn’t require cutting-edge technical know-how. Software like FaceSwap and ZaoApp, which can be downloaded for free, mean that anybody can create deepfakes. Deepfakes were initially used…

BY Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University; Casey Fiesler, University of Colorado Boulder, and Kentaro Toyama, University of Michigan 2023 was an inflection point in the evolution of artificial intelligence and its role in society. The year saw the emergence of generative AI, which moved the technology from the shadows to center stage in the public imagination. It also saw boardroom drama in an AI startup dominate the news cycle for several days. And it saw the Biden administration issue an executive order and the European Union pass a law aimed at regulating AI, moves perhaps best described as attempting to…

by Hovig Tchalian, University of Southern California When a rare bottle of Scotch whisky sold for $2.7 million or R50.5 million in November 2023, I was stunned, but I wasn’t surprised. The whiskey market has been booming for some time. Bourbon brands like Pappy Van Winkle from Buffalo Trace distillery are selling for astronomical prices in the secondary market. Japanese whiskies, which have become popular over the past decade, now fetch prices up to 50 times higher what they did a decade ago. And in July 2022, a single Ardbeg whisky barrel, aged since 1975, with enough liquid for about…

BY M. Hadi Amini, Florida International University Depending on which late-model vehicle you own, your car might be watching you – literally and figuratively – as you drive down the road. It’s watching you with cameras that monitor the cabin and track where you’re looking, and with sensors that track your speed, lane position and rate of acceleration. Your car uses this data to make your ride safe, comfortable and convenient. For example, the cameras can tell when you’ve been distracted and need to bring your attention back to the road. They can also identify when you are speeding by…