Navigating towards a next frontier The recent disruptive, management, board and shareholder upheavals at leading generative artificial intelligence firm OpenAI has focused the technology world’s attention firmly on its next frontier, the search for systems with artificial general intelligence (AGI). According to an analysis created by The Economist, this has divided the AI cognoscenti into two basic camps. Doomers “believe that, left unchecked, AI poses an existential risk to humanity and hence advocate stricter regulation”, while boomers “play down fears of an AI apocalypse and stress its potential to turbocharge progress”.

The power of unity One of my favourite poems of all time is Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night.” While the poem is commonly interpreted as a son’s appeal to his ailing father to sustain his will to live, it has always resonated more profoundly with me, encapsulating the prevailing spirit of South Africans today. We’re a tenacious bunch and it is probably not too surprising that our desire to survive and thrive, no matter the adversity we face, is tattooed on our nation’s psyche. Which brings me to sport and more specifically rugby and our heroic Boks. 

Safety on the ocean: Lessons learnt As I finished final preparations for my intended Reverse Miller’s Run downwind surfski paddle on the beach in front of my local club, Fish Hoek Beach Sports Club (FHBSC) at just before 16:00 on Thursday afternoon, 21 September 2023, I activated the South African National Sea Rescue Institute’s NSRI SafeTRX app. I selected its continuous tracking setting, sealed my smartphone in its special waterproof bag and made sure its lanyard was securely fastened to my personal floatation device (PFD). This is the best thing I could have done before heading out, as soon enough, I needed to be rescued.

Students' prank leads to positive outcome “Borrowing” of Atterbury's giant Springbok jersey leads to donation to Atterbury Trust With Springbok spirit currently at a high, two Pretoria students took their enthusiasm for the Bokke campaign a bit too far. They decided to “borrow” the giant Springbok jersey that is dressed on the large Angus Taylor statue “Child of the Dust” by Atterbury Property during each Rugby World Cup tournament, for their own purposes. This renowned stone statue stands in front of the company's Clubhouse headquarters in Hazelwood, Pretoria.

Private following eliminates brand message fatigue Meta Platforms, much like other giants in the digital economy, has a knack for emulating the successful features or products of its rivals. They borrowed the Stories format from Snap and introduced Reels — a short video format inspired by TikTok’s success. With Threads, they even seem to pay homage to Twitter, if not X.