Author: The Conversation
A defining characteristic of the way many people live today is persistent online connectedness. Since the introduction of smartphones about 15 years ago, the rapid and broad adoption of these devices has had an impact on people’s behaviour at all hours of the day. Forecasts suggest that the number of smartphone connections in sub-Saharan Africa will reach 678 million by the end of 2025, representing an adoption rate of 65%. Many people check their phones when they wake up, use them while travelling to work and constantly keep an eye on them while at work. A phone screen is the…
President Joe Biden’s cybersecurity executive order, signed May 12, 2021, calls for the federal government to adopt a “zero-trust architecture.” This raises a couple of questions. What is zero-trust security? And, if trust is bad for cybersecurity, why do most organizations in government and the private sector do it? One consequence of too much trust online is the ransomware epidemic, a growing global problem that affects organizations large and small. High-profile breaches such as the one experienced by the Colonial Pipeline are merely the tip of the iceberg. There were at least 2,354 ransomware attacks on local governments, health care…
At the launch of bitcoin in 2009 the size of the potential of the underlying technology, the blockchain, was not fully appreciated. What has not been fully exploited is the unique features of blockchain technology that can improve the lives of people and businesses. These include the fact that it is an open-source software. This makes its source code legally and freely available to end-users who can use it to create new products and services. Another significant feature is that it is decentralised, democratising the operation of the services built on it. Control of the services built on the blockchain…
With the proliferation of female robots such as Sophia and the popularity of female virtual assistants such as Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon) and Cortana (Microsoft), artificial intelligence seems to have a gender issue. This gender imbalance in AI is a pervasive trend that has drawn sharp criticism in the media (even Unesco warned against the dangers of this practice) because it could reinforce stereotypes about women (and female robots) being objects. But why is femininity injected in artificial intelligent objects? If we want to curb the massive use of female gendering in AI, we need to better understand the deep…
Along with its many benefits, the internet has brought the world a new risk – cybercrime. Cybercrimes are offences that intentionally harm victims in various ways using telecommunications networks. One report estimates the global annual cost of cybercrime would reach US$6 trillion at the end of 2021. It’s a major problem in Nigeria too. About N127 billion or US$649 million is lost annually to internet fraud, representing 0.08% of the country’s gross domestic product. This makes cybercrime a threat to foreign direct investment and the socio-economic development of the country. Read more: Meet the ‘Yahoo boys’ – Nigeria’s undergraduate conmen…
For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goal – but he wasn’t a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman, paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only seven people have followed suit in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone. NASA has long been hesitant to play host to space tourists, so Russia – looking for sources of money post-Cold…
You decide to call a store that sells some hiking boots you’re thinking of buying. As you dial in, the computer of an artificial intelligence company hired by the store is activated. It retrieves its analysis of the speaking style you used when you phoned other companies the software firm services. The computer has concluded you are “friendly and talkative.” Using predictive routing, it connects you to a customer service agent who company research has identified as being especially good at getting friendly and talkative customers to buy more expensive versions of the goods they’re considering. This hypothetical situation may…
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission just fired a shot across the bow of the artificial intelligence industry. On April 19, 2021, a staff attorney at the agency, which serves as the nation’s leading consumer protection authority, wrote a blog post about biased AI algorithms that included a blunt warning: “Keep in mind that if you don’t hold yourself accountable, the FTC may do it for you.” The post, titled “Aiming for truth, fairness, and equity in your company’s use of AI,” was notable for its tough and specific rhetoric about discriminatory AI. The author observed that the commission’s authority to…
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to appear before the Zondo Commission of inquiry into corruption in South Africa comes at a delicate time. A great deal hinges on it. When a sitting President appears before a Judicial Commission of Inquiry it is always a significant moment. Sometimes a Commission will be concerned with a failure or with misconduct that has taken place under the particular head of government’s own watch. But other times, it may be that it is the mistakes of a previous administration or President that are under scrutiny. Ramaphosa’s case is unusual as it is neither one nor…
Twenty seven years into democracy, South African politics is still for the few. And those who complain the most have the least to grumble about. Since South Africa is highly unequal and remains divided into insiders and outsiders – those who benefit from the market economy and those who can’t – we might expect its politics to be a loud battle between those who have and those who don’t. Most commentators believe it is. Within the governing African National Congress (ANC), a battle rages between the “radical economic transformation forces”, who purport to champion the interests of the poor majority,…