Social Media OP-ED - X marks the spot: your platform is someone else's country Open-sourcing a candid disagreement with Future in the Humanities (FITH) Founding Chair Prof Iginio Gagliardone about Mastodon and X. What are the tradeoffs of building an African intellectual project on platforms that might extract more than they give?
Digital Transformation OP-ED - The mine, the machine, and the intern From post-WW2 coal mines to modern codebases, history suggests AI transformation will rise or fall not on technical capability alone, but on whether organisations deliberately redesign the social systems that surround the machine.
Artificial Intelligence OP-ED - How solo sailors sleep Solo sailors don't forecast the ocean. They set an alarm and pay attention. In the age of AI disruption, that pragmatic sensibility turns out to be rarer and more valuable than anyone is admitting.
This Is Connectivity OP-ED - Video podcasts are just chatshows with visible microphones Twenty-five years of podcast evolution has come full circle. Adam Wakefield argues audio's so-called limitations are actually its greatest edge in the attention economy.
Market Intelligence OP-ED - What do SAG Ventures and Balloon Ventures have in common? The intermediary trap Prince Nwadeyi's published research and Joshua Bicknell's operational experience expose the same problem: entrenched incentive structures don't serve those closest to real economic activity.
Sponsored POD - Future in the Humanities EP 3/3: The Gig Economy's Hidden Costs Wits University social scientist and researcher Fikile Masikane exposes harsh realities behind promises of entrepreneurial freedom for food delivery drivers in South Africa.
Sponsored POD - Future in the Humanities EP 2/3: Unpacking Social Media Conspiracies in a World of Crisis Wits University media researchers Samuel Olaniran and Iginio Gagliardone come to grips with the societal impact of conspiracy theories in today's social media-led world.
Sponsored POD - Future in the Humanities EP 1/3: Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Human Connection Wits University researchers Sahba Besharati and Victoria Williams discuss cultural perceptions of contact, pandemic-induced changes and the long-term effects on social relationships and mental health.
