These are the articles, videos and more that caught the attention of TechCentral’s editorial team in the past 24 hours.
- AI is putting America’s electrical grid at risk: AI, crypto and electric cars are gobbling up energy, and America’s ageing grid is sweating bullets. With peak demand forecast to rise 15% or more over the next decade, data centres, heat pumps and Teslas are pushing utilities to rethink power. The nuclear option is back on the table, but grid upgrades crawl at a snail’s pace. Batteries in stovetops, anyone? Read more on Gizmodo. DM
- Bosses struggle to police workers’ use of AI: Bosses are scrambling as AI sneaks into workplaces faster than corporate rules can keep up. Employees are quietly turbocharging productivity with ChatGPT but fear being labelled lazy or genius impostors. Companies flip-flop between bans and “gated AI playgrounds”, while clueless juniors draft AI policies for their bosses. Spoiler: AI’s here – just act natural. Read more on FT.com (hard paywall). DM
- Zimbabwe slashes electric car import duties: Zimbabwe has slashed import duties on electric vehicles from 40% to 25% and introduced rebates for EV charging stations. BYD, the only EV company in Zimbabwe, applauded the move but highlighted that EV prices remain prohibitive. Read more on TechZim. DM
- You can now call ChatGPT on the phone: Feeling lonely? OpenAI’s ChatGPT is now just a call away at 1-800-CHATGPT – free, but limited to 15 minutes a month. Non-US users can WhatsApp it instead. It’s a cute gimmick, but hey, if you ever need a bot to “listen”, your new AI phone pal’s ready. Read more on Gizmodo. DM
- This is where the data to build AI comes from: AI is all about data. Reams and reams of the stuff are needed to train algorithms to do what we want, and what goes into the AI models determines what comes out. But here’s the problem: AI developers and researchers don’t really know much about the sources of the data they are using. More in MIT Technology Review. TS
- Netflix fined $4.8 million by Dutch watchdog over data-handling disclosures: The Dutch equivalent of South Africa’s Information Regulator, the Data Protection Authority, has slapped streaming giant Netflix with a US$4.8-million fine for failure to comply with data handling and data privacy laws. Read more in The Wall Street Journal (hard paywall). NN
Top stories on TechCentral in the past 24 hours:
- Big management changes at MTN Group
- Apple and Meta trade barbs over privacy, interoperability
- Technology breakthrough could reduce space needed for solar panels
- Apple halts plan for iPhone hardware subscription service
- Work under way to make Sadc payments faster and cheaper
- Solly Malatsi seeks legal muscle
Bookmarks is a daily feature on TechCentral and published Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
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