Author: The Conversation

If you have grown up with social media, chances are you have taken more photos in the last couple of decades than you will ever remember. When mobile phones suddenly became cameras too, social media turned into a community photo album, with memories kept online forever and ever. Or so we thought. In 2019, MySpace lost 12 years’ worth of music and photos, affecting over 14 million artists and 50 million tracks. If Instagram or the entire internet suddenly disappeared, would you be able to access your precious memories? We are living in a “digital dark age”, a term popularised by information…

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 has issued a stark warning: misinformation and disinformation, primarily driven by deepfakes, are ranked as the most severe global short-term risks the world faces in the next two years. In October 2023, the Innovation council of Québec shared the same realization after months of consultations with experts and the public. This digital deception, which leverages artificial intelligence and, more recently generative AI, to create hyper-realistic fabrications, extends beyond being a technological marvel; it poses a profound societal threat. In response to the gap in effectively combating deepfakes with technology and legislation alone, a research project led by my team and I sheds…

After hours of routine operations, an air traffic controller gets a radio call from a small aircraft whose cockpit indicators can’t confirm that the plane’s landing gear is extended for landing. The controller arranges for the pilot to fly low by the tower so the controller can visually check the plane’s landing gear. All appears well. “It looks like your gear is down,” the controller tells the pilot. The controller calls for the airport fire trucks to be ready just in case, and the aircraft circles back to land safely. Scenarios like this play out regularly. In the air traffic…

A 2019 Time magazine cover portrayed four astronauts running towards the Moon. Pictured alongside the headline “The Next Space Race”, one of the astronauts carried an American flag, one carried a Chinese flag and the other two belonged to space companies owned by billionaires: Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Until recently, it seemed as if the US and SpaceX were set to win this race to return to the Moon with NASA’s Artemis programme. But a number of setbacks have called that into question. And Blue Origin, China and other countries and companies are continuing their own lunar efforts.…

Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power utility, struggles to generate and supply a stable flow of electricity to meet demand. In 2023, there were times when households and businesses had no power for up to 11 hours a day. The result is that many South Africans are choosing to end or reduce their dependence on the national electricity grid. The approaches people are taking are still evolving. Some are choosing to cut off their reliance on local government, which is responsible for local electricity distribution and reticulation. Others are opting to add solar and battery power while retaining municipal power for backup. The move…

Earlier this week, Elon Musk announced his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, had implanted a device in a human for the first time. The company’s PRIME study, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration last year, is testing a brain implant for “people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts”. The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2024 In the past few years, Neuralink has faced investigation for mistreatment of lab animals and seen the departure of several company executives. Nevertheless, the PRIME trial is a…

Meta announced on Jan. 9, 2024, that it will protect teen users by blocking them from viewing content on Instagram and Facebook that the company deems to be harmful, including content related to suicide and eating disorders. The move comes as federal and state governments have increased pressure on social media companies to provide safety measures for teens. At the same time, teens turn to their peers on social media for support that they can’t get elsewhere. Efforts to protect teens could inadvertently make it harder for them to also get help. Congress has held numerous hearings in recent years about social media and the risks to young…

It is difficult to emphasise the significance of the milestone surpassed by NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity. The little (1.8kg) helicopter touched down with the Perseverance rover in 2021. On 25 January, NASA announced that the flying vehicle had to perform an emergency landing which damaged one of its rotors and ended its mission. This reminds us that space exploration is still difficult to do. But Ingenuity’s three years on Mars proved that powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible. The little helicopter lasted for far longer than had been planned and flew higher and further than many had envisaged. Beyond this Martian…

Using digital platforms is increasingly the only option to manage our daily lives, from filling out forms at the doctor’s office or government offices to ordering food, booking a cab, paying taxes, banking, shopping or dating. Often, people are coerced into using apps or online platforms by the absence of any other options. Our social lives are equally entrenched in social media platforms. While the availability of services and opportunities on digital platforms may offer easier access or create an impression of wider connections, it also potentially harms our wellbeing. The adverse impacts of digital use have grown since the pandemic, as social isolation has…

Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset – which the company hopes is a “revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” – that begins shipping to the public (in the United States) later this week. Critics have doubted the appeal of the face-worn computer, which “seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world”, but Apple has pre-sold as many as 180,000 of the US$3,500 gizmos. What does Apple think people will do with these pricey peripherals? While uses will evolve, Apple is focusing attention on watching TV and movies, editing and reliving “memories”, and – perhaps most…