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Mail & Guardian
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Pseudocracy: American exceptionalism continues to present as intact, despite actions such as bombing Iran and eviscerating Venezuela. Is America’s blatant lying today, in a sense, the boldest form of truth-telling? Photo: Trump Facebook page

The creative power of lies

America’s scale of its invented narratives are hard to match. Trump has normalised the idea that rhetorical bombast matters more than accuracy

Exhibition: The talent on display at SA Innovation Week 2026 is truly inspiring. Photo: Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

Why brilliant ideas aren’t enough

The country has the talent. It has ideas. It has institutions. What it needs is the connective tissue to turn potential into performance — and the patience to accept that…

Bold: Beijing has laid out its map at the “Two Sessions” and it is one of a nation determined to lead. Photo: Supplied

‘Two Sessions’ reveals a China eyeing global dominance

The story of the coming years will not be the binary of whether China ‘collapses’ or ‘surpasses’. It will be about how the rest of the world adapts to a China that has…

Google AI Research Scientist Timnit Gebru speaks onstage during Day 3 of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018 at Moscone Center on September 7, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

Timnit Gebru and the fight to make artificial intelligence work for Africa

As you read this, the future is being coded in Silicon Valley. The algorithms that will one day govern our lives are being built. But who is building them, and who are they being…

Artist David Phume at his home/lab in Bryanston. (Photo Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

The Portfolio: David Phume

Animator, roboticist and artist David Phume is on a mission to show that technology is not just for the geniuses in Silicon Valley

Numerai’s beautifully animated videos explain complex mechanics and concepts with ease

So much to give

Present Tense

With most corporates effectively having their staff work remotely, educators will need to match and exceed this if they are to do more than just survive

Building your own business

We need to become perpetual students, and the range of training offerings just keeps increasing

(John McCann)

Who wants to live forever?

Longevity enthusiasts believe immortality is a worthwhile goal. But refugees from the past could create problems for future generations

Mango-red: San Francisco houses, among other tourist attractions, the famous Golden Gate Bridge, but there are other sides to the city. Photo: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

​Walking among unicorns

Facts about San Francisco are hidden; they are gleaned from trying to make sense of being there

After the teenager was killed by an underground train in 2012

German court to rule on parents’ access to dead daughter’s Facebook

Germany is far from the first country to see moral and legal battles over how to deal with digital data whose owners have passed away

The newly appointed premier of Gauteng

Makhura believes digital revolution could address Gauteng unemployment crisis

The premier promised to align education and training to meet the needs of the new digital economy

(Reuters)

We have created a monster in the internet machine

What has made internet platforms so profitable has also left them vulnerable to manipulation by malign actors

A developer testing a game for children in an office in Chengdu

Chinese Chengdu aspires to become next Silicon Valley

Entrepreneurs in China’s south-west are dreaming of turning the city of Chengdu into the world’s next Silicon Valley.

SA fails test of network society

SA fails test of network society

From Silicon Valley to Yokohama, Manuel Castells tracked the ways states can accelerate the technological modernisation of economies.

Young graduates struggle for Silicon Valley jobs

Young professionals have struggled to find work in a sliding economy, but one area — Silicon Valley — has been relatively immune. Until now.

Flickr founder’s exit marks end of a web era

Stewart Butterfield, who with his wife Caterina Fake created Flickr, used his resignation letter from Yahoo! to embark on a flight of fantasy.

Microsoft eyes new tie-up with Yahoo!

With Yahoo! facing pressure from a corporate raider, the internet giant has reopened discussions on a tie-up with Microsoft, but for a new deal that would probably not be an…

CEO: Microsoft can do it without Yahoo!

Microsoft can build a competitive online advertising business without Yahoo! but it "could just take more time", CEO Steve Ballmer told the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> in an…

Microsoft expands online business software

Microsoft announced on Monday that it is expanding the range of business software it makes available as a service on the internet. The move comes as people increasingly use…

Microsoft renews bid despite Yahoo! rejection

Yahoo!’s rejection on Monday of Microsoft’s buyout offer sets the stage for the United States software giant to up the ante or attempt a coup by ousting the internet firm’s board…