Microsoft wants to tap AI to accelerate scientific discovery
Can AI speed up aspects of the scientific process? Microsoft appears to think so. At the company’s Build 2025 conference on Monday, Microsoft announced Microsoft Discovery, a platform that taps agentic AI to “transform the [scientific] discovery process,” according to a press release provided to TechCrunch. Microsoft Discovery is “extensible,”
Read moreNLWeb is Microsoft’s project to bring more chatbots to webpages
As part of an effort to make building AI-powered chatbots on the web simpler, Microsoft is launching an open project called NLWeb. Announced at Build 2025, NLWeb lets websites provide a “conversational interface” — i.e. a text field and a submission button — for their users with a few lines
Read moreIt’ll soon be free to publish apps to the Microsoft Store
Microsoft is getting rid of developer onboarding fees for the Microsoft Store on Windows, the digital distribution platform for its flagship operating system, the company announced Monday during its Build 2025 conference. Starting June 2025, individual developers will be able to sign up and publish apps to the Microsoft Store
Read moreAI dev tools for Windows get a fresh coat of paint
Microsoft wants to make it easier for developers to build AI-powered apps on Windows devices. On Monday during its Build 2025 conference, Microsoft announced Windows AI Foundry, a rebranding and expansion of the Windows Copilot Runtime service the company launched last May. Microsoft describes Windows AI Foundry as a “unified platform
Read moreThe Digital Divide’s Dark Side: Cybersecurity in African Higher Education
The digital revolution is transforming African education, with universities embracing online learning and digital systems. However, this progress brings a crucial challenge: cybersecurity. Are African higher education institutions (HEIs) prepared for the escalating cyber threats? The Growing Threat Landscape African HEIs are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Microsoft’s Cyber Signals… Source
Read moreAfrica’s Banking Boom Faces Cyber Risks
As African banks continue to bring financial services to millions of the unbanked, an escalating crisis is building: a severe shortage of cybersecurity skills. Cyberattacks now rank among the leading concerns of African financial institutions, with 59% identifying cybercrime as a major threat, according to the 2024 African Financial Industry
Read moreResearch roadmap update, May 2025
An update to the research that the User Experience team is running over the next quarter.
Read moreOld Mutual Warns of Rising Deepfake Scams in South Africa
According to Sumsub’s cybersecurity research, South Africa experienced a staggering 1200% increase in deepfake-related attacks within a single year, marking the highest reported surge worldwide. A recent Kaspersky survey revealed a concerning statistic: up to 80% of South Africans struggle to tell the difference between real and AI-generated content. “Deepfakes
Read moreCut Costs or Improve Customer Support? GenAI Says You Can Both
Generative AI (GenAI) enhances customer support by improving self-service capabilities, reducing costs, and personalizing experiences. Companies using agentic AI show higher self-service rates, cut resolution costs, and achieve increased customer satisfaction. This technology holds the potential to transform customer interactions through improved insights and empathetic responses, benefiting both customers and
Read moreSANTACO Western Cape Signs Tech Partnership with Quickloc8
Quickloc8, an innovation in transport technology, has partnered with the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO). This is an important move to promote growth and stability in the essential taxi industry of the Western Cape. The alliance aims to use technology’s revolutionary power as a crucial intervention tool, addressing critical
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