Author: The Conversation

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more powerful – even being used in warfare – there’s an urgent need for governments, tech companies and international bodies to ensure it’s safe. And a common thread in most agreements on AI safety is a need for human oversight of the technology. In theory, humans can operate as safeguards against misuse and potential hallucinations (where AI generates incorrect information). This could involve, for example, a human reviewing content that the technology generates (its outputs). However, there are inherent challenges to the idea of humans acting as a effective check on computer systems, as a…

The start of the new English Premier League (EPL) football season is seeing further changes to the way VAR (the video assistant referee) is operated. VAR was introduced to the EPL in 2019 in an attempt to reduce the number of incorrect refereeing decisions, including offsides – but its use is still much criticised. Video replays of refereeing decisions are reviewed in real-time by referees and other officials based in Stockley Park, west London. The advice of these officials and video of the key moment are then fed back to the referee on the pitch, to help ensure the accuracy of their…

Our Sun drives a constant outward flow of plasma, or ionized gas, called the solar wind, which envelops our solar system. Outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, the fastest solar wind rushes by at speeds of over 310 miles (500 kilometres) per second. But researchers haven’t been able to figure out how the wind gets enough energy to achieve that speed – until now. Our team of heliophysicists published a paper in August 2024 that points to a new source of energy propelling the solar wind. Solar wind discovery Physicist Eugene Parker predicted the solar wind’s existence in 1958. The Mariner spacecraft, headed to Venus, would confirm its…

Automating food is unlike automating anything else. Food is fundamental to life – nourishing body and soul – so how it’s accessed, prepared and consumed can change societies fundamentally. Automated kitchens aren’t sci-fi visions from “The Jetsons” or “Star Trek.” The technology is real and global. Right now, robots are used to flip burgers, fry chicken, create pizzas, make sushi, prepare salads, serve ramen, bake bread, mix cocktails and much more. AI can invent recipes based on the molecular compatibility of ingredients or whatever a kitchen has in stock. More advanced concepts are being developed to automate the entire kitchen for fine dining. Since technology tends to be expensive at first, the early adopters of AI kitchen technologies are restaurants and…

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 us, Mohamed-Slim Alouini,…

South Africa is at a pivotal moment in its energy transition: trying to decarbonise its economy (move away from coal) and make sure that everyone has access to reliable and affordable energy. Storage of renewable energy is very important for this transition. Solar and wind power are not available all the time. To keep the national grid stable, renewable energy must be stored somewhere and supplied reliably. The country has already made strides in integrating renewable energy into its power grid through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Since 2010, this has attracted 110 private independent power projects that have invested…

SpaceX’s upcoming Polaris Dawn mission aims to be historic in more ways than one. Polaris Dawn plans to not only orbit Earth higher than any astronauts have in more than 50 years but to also feature the first private spacewalk. The mission was expected to launch Aug. 27, 2024, but after detecting a helium leak, SpaceX pushed the launch date back 24 hours, to the morning of August 28. It will feature a crew of four: the mission’s commander, Jared Isaacman; Scott Poteet, a 20-year Air Force veteran pilot; and SpaceX employees Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. Launching on a Falcon 9 rocket, they…

South Africa endured an electricity crisis from 2008 characterised by intermittent rolling blackouts and a growing culture of non-payment. The state-owned utility, Eskom, came to be regarded as the single largest risk to South Africa’s economy. At the end of March 2020 Eskom’s debt stood at R488 billion (US$27.4 billion). The government has attempted several measures to overcome the country’s energy problems. These have included new Eskom boards, new CEOs, bailouts for Eskom and a National Energy Crisis Committee that includes the private sector. Now it’s trying legislative reform. In mid-August 2024 President Cyril Ramaphosa approved a new law that marks the most significant change to date…

When Pavel Durov arrived in France on his private jet last Saturday, he was greeted by police who promptly arrested him. As the founder of the direct messaging platform Telegram, he was accused of facilitating the widespread crimes committed on it. The following day, a French judge extended Durov’s initial period of detention, allowing police to detain him for up to 96 hours. Telegram has rejected the allegations against Durov. In a statement, the company said: It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform. The case may have far-reaching international implications,…

Cloud computing has emerged as a crucial element in today’s technology, serving as the backbone for global connectivity. It empowers businesses, governments, and individuals to employ and construct cloud-based services and forms the foundation for a huge range of systems we use every day including telecommunications, transportation, healthcare, banking, and even streaming services. Such systems, like any hardware or software, are susceptible to failures and cyberattacks that can occur unpredictably. Cybercriminals are becoming even more determined, and their attacks increasingly sophisticated and frequent. One of the tactics these groups frequently employ are distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which flood companies’ systems with…