TIKTOK OR INSTAGRAM – EITHER WAY YOU BETTER LOVE VIDEOS

Anyone who is even remotely up to date with the happenings of the social media landscape will know that Instagram recently came under fire from a whole host of individuals, celebrities and businesses alike due to its proposed proprietary algorithm updates that look to push its video content agenda so much so, that people could ‘confuse’ it with the likes of TikTok. TikTok of course is founded on its short-form video content and has amassed one billion monthly users who create, share and engage with video content on a daily basis. Meta, Instagram and Facebook’s holding company, released Reels in 2020 on Instagram and in 2021 on Facebook […]

LAMDA AND THE LANGUAGE PROCESSING AI CLAIMING SENTIENCE

LaMDA is one of Google’s ‘babies’ and stands for “Language Model for Dialogue Applications”, which the company believes to be its “breakthrough conversation technology”. So, how did LaMDA come to be? Well, according to the tech-giant, it’s always had a “soft spot for language. Early on, [they] set out to translate the web. More recently, [they’ve] invented machine learning techniques that help us better grasp the intent of Search queries. However this is not enough, and the company has subsequently been drawn to the challenge of deciphering one of humanity’s characteristic and most nuanced forms of communication by looking to use AI driven language processing to uncover the meaning of […]

LIVING LIFE IN THE METAVERSE

Mark Zuckerberg, known for his social media empire including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – has never been afraid of a challenge or a ‘new beginning’ in the ever changing social media networking landscape. It hasn’t been without it’s challenges though for the Meta founder, who is constantly under fire for issues faced and created by his social media networking apps, including the likes of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, data protection and privacy acts, as well as the constant business threat he faces around the monopolisation of the market accusations that he faces, particularly in the US. However, it seems Zuckerberg remains largely undeterred and has forged ahead with his futuristic vision for his […]

THE HUMAN BRAIN IS NOT AS BIG AS IT USED TO BE

Is bigger always better? Well, when it comes to something like the human brain, one would certainly think so, especially in an age where human-intelligence has been thoroughly showcased through consistent technological advances. So it may come as a bit of a surprise that despite the fact that we are known to be the ‘most advanced civilisation’, our ancestors’ brains were actually bigger than ours are now. However, what does that actually mean in the greater scheme of things and why are our brains smaller 3000 years later?

Despite the fact that humans have advanced significantly over the last 300,000 years, since the first homo sapiens emerged […]

TWITTER TAKEOVER TURNAROUND

On the 25^th of April 2022, Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion was accepted as the social media company agreed to sell the company to Musk holistically with no other stakeholders or investors involved in the purchase. A lot has happened since Musk initiated the takeover from more of a hostile standpoint, to a seemingly amicable agreement, to a standstill. The deal made waves across investment markets such as Wall Street as well as the ‘streets’ of social media so to speak. There have been a number of reasons supplied for Musk’s determination to purchase the company. Some Wall Street analysts questioned the move, as Wedbush Analyst Dan Ives noted; “Forty-four billion […]

INSTAGRAM’S AMBER ALERT

South Africa is unfortunately no stranger to gender based and domestic violence as well as extremely high levels of woman and child abuse, including kidnapping and abductions. “The South African Police Service crime statistics for 2010/11 to 2019/20 show a 133% increase in reported kidnappings (from 2 839 to 6 623). The most recent 2020/21 figures show a 9% drop (587 cases) compared to the previous year.” However, that is still a significant number of kidnappings, and are only indicative given the fact that a large percentage remain unreported, and even more because they fall under the definition of a missing person rather than a kidnapping or abduction. According to the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), […]

THE ASHES OF AQUAMATION

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” is something that we often say when someone passes away, and figuratively means that we will once again become the elements of the earth once we pass on. However, for many people this is a literal transformation due to the process of cremation, which is a popular method for disposing of a body after a funeral or memorial service. The resultant ashes can then be scattered in a meaningful or memorable place to that person, kept, or placed in a memorial wall or site. Some people even plant the ashes under trees or have them compressed and turned into jewelry so that they can remain close to the […]

INSTAGRAM LOOKS TO TEST-DRIVE NFTS

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs as they are more commonly referred to as, gained significant traction in 2021 with some such as Jack Dorsey’s original tweet NFT going for a whopping $3 million, however that seems to have slowed in 2022 with the hype around them less prominent this year with the same NFT unable to even achieve $25,000 at auction a year later. The tokens act as form of financial investment or security that is comprised of digital data that is stored in blockchain. Cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin are used to support NFTs, however the NFTs store extra information that differentiate it from typical cryptocurrencies. Unlike Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, NFTs are […]

LIFE IS PLASTIC AND NOT SO FANTASTIC

By now, we’ve all heard of the ever-pervasive issues around microplastics and the prominent role that these play in planetary pollution. The reason they are so problematic is largely due to their increasing prominence in spaces that have a direct impact on us as human beings – whether that is the products that we use and consume on a daily basis, our ‘natural habitat’, food sources, and now for the first time – scientists have actually discovered them within the human body, therefore demonstrating just how inescapable and present they are in our everyday lives and the things we come into contact with on a daily basis.

Microplastics, as the name might […]

IS TESLA’S ELON MUSK TAKING OVER OR TAKING DOWN TWITTER

In a truly shocking takeover, Tesla boss Elon Musk finally acquired Twitter on the 25^th of April 2022 after a $44 Billion bid was successful. Musk, who is nothing if not strategic when it comes to business – started the acquisition process early in January 2022 when he first started accumulating shares in the company. Before his bid to buy Twitter came to light, Musk was one of the largest shareholders of the company having accumulated just over 9% of the shares in the public company by March of this year. Many questioned Musk’s motives for doing so, with many believing that his goal would be to acquire […]