The ability to describe the fourth industrial revolution in local languages presents an opportunity to invent them from – and for – local contexts
Tech
Posted inGeneral, Tech
‘Why is Africa so messed up?’
The continent’s image can change when the majority of the countries pass several economic and political thresholds
Posted inGeneral, Tech
South Africa’s military in the fourth industrial revolution
The SANDF must realise that in a context of fourth-generation warfare, national security is no longer geographically defined and preparedness on all fronts is crucial
Posted inGeneral, Tech
Liberal thought has a place in the era of artificial intelligence
Because liberalism demands accountability, AI now enters into an updated social contract between individuals, their states, and AI-producing companies
Posted inTech
Humanity in the future
Our ‘natural’ origin and technocratic destiny can be explored in Dan Brown’s Origin
Posted inGeneral, Tech
Revisiting an old favourite in the new Star Trek: Discovery
Viewers will find in the series an exemplar of the exploration of forms of otherness most people have never dreamed of, as well as of divergent ways to act in unison
Posted inTech
Eliminating bias is the new frontier of AI innovation
Artificial intelligence is racist and sexist, and just like in the real world, change in the virtual world requires sustained effort
Posted inBusiness, Tech
Metrics in Project SAA: What you measure matters
By Dale van der Lingen Inspired by the recent movie Ford vs. Ferrari, which retells Ford Racing’s overthrow of the ever-dominant Ferrari in the 1960s at Le Mans, and the Springbok’s epic turnaround to win last year’s Rugby World Cup, I’ve written this series of pieces to show that not all is lost with our […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, Gender violence, General, Health, Media, Tech
Human ‘nature’ as explored in a riveting television series: ‘The 100’
The question, what is dominant, human ‘nature’, or ‘nurture’ (culture), has been the motivating force in a debate that has waged since at least the 18th and 19th centuries — for instance in the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (see his prize-winning Academy of Dijon essay on the question, whether human morals had improved by, or […]
Posted inEquality, General, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
‘Aquaman’ and American superheroes
On the way back from a conference in Berlin just before Christmas 2019, I was catching up on movies on Qatar Airlines — a carrier with exceptional leg-space in economy class, so I could sit comfortably, at least — and I managed to select a number of excellent recent films, including Marc Webb’s Gifted (2017) […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics, Tech
Can SAA attract the “one percenters”?
By Dale van der Lingen My previous piece here centred on lessons for South African Airways (SAA) from Ford’s upending of Ferrari’s decades long dominance at Le Mans in the 1960s and our very own Springboks’ miraculous turnaround from a place where, to paraphrase Mike Tindell’s post-match analysis, they couldn’t win a raffle 18 months […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
Modern architecture in Berlin
When one finds oneself on a busy street in modern Berlin — capital of a reunified Germany since June 20 1991 — it is difficult to believe that it has grown into this city in the course of seven centuries, at least as far as its written history goes. The latter records that in the […]