When AI plays Cupid: the dangers of companion chatbots
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s worth asking an uncomfortable question: what happens when the feeling of being ‘seen and heard’ doesn’t come from a partner, but from a machine? Designed with distinct personalities and an affirming tone, artificial...
Love in the age of apps …
Giving cards, flowers and chocolates for Valetine’s Day is a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years. But these days, our smartphones offer a range of new ways to be thoughtful and share love. TCL looks at some ways you can use digital technology, especially...
Climate co-operation could deliver stability
Co-operation on climate change could provide the cure to current political turmoil., according to United Nations climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell. Speaking in Istanbul alongside incoming COP31 president Murat Kurum of Turkiye, Stiell said: “We find...
Fear of judgement pushes AI use for mental health
With the growing adoption of AI chatbots, more people are now using them for mental health support. To explore this trend, Cognitive FX surveyed American adults who have used AI chatbots for mental health-related concerns. Key findings from the survey include: ...
AI put to work on solutions for youth unemployment
A University of Cape Town (UCT) researcher has secured a prestigious international research grant to investigate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can improve employment prospects for unemployed young people in South Africa, placing local youth at the centre of a...
Book-type devices to dominate foldable smartphone shipments
For the global foldable smartphone market, 2026 is expected to represent a structural inflection point, moving beyond a cyclical recovery toward a more sustainable expansion phase. In contrast, 2025 largely functioned as a transition year, characterized by inventory...
Fibre-to-the-room still a specialist offering
A new advisory report “Fibre-to-the-Room: Is There Room for FTTR?”, examine the outlook for FTTR and why adoption remains heavily concentrated in China, despite growing global operator experimentation. Yousef Almadani, senior analyst: telecom technology and software...
ISPA warns about online gambling
South Africans are not permitted to gamble on online casinos and sports betting platforms that are not licensed locally, unregulated sites likely have the odds heavily stacked against the player, and banks are legally obligated to confiscate any winnings detected....
Is your cloud spend growing faster than your ability to predict it?
As cloud environments expand and consumption becomes more dynamic, financial predictability starts to slip. By Richard Vester, chief executive: cloud at iOCO Budgets feel less reliable, forecasts need constant revision, and leadership confidence begins to erode, often...
Using AI to solve SA’s biggest challenges
South Africans have a long tradition of doing more with less and that resourcefulness may be our greatest competitive advantage in the coming decade. By Dean Wolson, GM of Infrastructure Solutions Group at Lenovo Africa Unlike global superpowers that invest heavily in...
AI in cybersecurity: battleground or breakthrough?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed industries from healthcare to finance, but one area where its influence is both promising and perilous is cybersecurity. By Avinash Gupta, head of Centre of Excellence at In2IT Technologies On one hand, AI...
Westcon-Comstor adds Meter’s enterprise networking
Westcon-Comstor has signed a new distribution agreement with Networking-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider Meter. The deal sees Westcon-Comstor become Meter’s first distributor in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), allowing the region’s channel partners to leverage a...