Author: Michael O Oke

Chinese artificial intelligence developer Zhipu AI has unveiled its newest flagship model, GLM-5, marking a major milestone in the country’s rapidly evolving generative AI landscape and heightening competition with rival startup DeepSeek. Announced on February 11, 2026, GLM-5 is positioned as the latest and most advanced iteration in Zhipu’s “General Language Model” series. According to company and market reports, the model significantly expands its capabilities in complex coding tasks, long-context understanding, and agent-style reasoning areas crucial to real-world AI applications and next-generation AI services. What GLM-5 Brings to the Table GLM-5 builds on Zhipu’s previous open-source models with a much larger parameter scale…

OpenAI has rapidly emerged as one of the most influential forces in artificial intelligence development. Founded with the mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, this research laboratory has evolved from a nonprofit startup into a powerhouse reshaping how we interact with technology. Through groundbreaking innovations like ChatGPT and DALL-E, OpenAI has brought sophisticated AI capabilities into the mainstream, sparking both excitement and debate about the future of machine intelligence. What is OpenAI: A Comprehensive Overview OpenAI is a research and deployment company specialising in artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on developing artificial general intelligence…

A professor from the University of Pretoria has been appointed to the United Nations’ Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, marking a significant milestone for South African scholarship and Africa’s growing influence in global AI governance. The appointment places the University of Pretoria’s academic expertise among a select group of international experts tasked with advising the United Nations on the scientific, ethical, and societal implications of artificial intelligence. The panel is expected to play a key role in shaping global norms, policy frameworks, and evidence-based recommendations as AI technologies rapidly transform economies, public services, and security worldwide. According to the United…

Addis Ababa will host a high-level Artificial Intelligence (AI) Leadership Forum during the African Union (AU) Summit week, as policymakers, technology leaders and investors converge to discuss Africa’s place in the rapidly evolving global AI ecosystem. The forum is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the AU Summit in February and is expected to attract participants from across the continent and beyond. The event is being organised by the Africa Fintech Summit in partnership with OpenAI and talent development organisation ALX. According to the organisers, the forum aims to create a platform for strategic dialogue on how African…

Why the Question of AGI Matters Now Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant scientific ambition. It writes emails, recommends films, assists doctors in diagnosing disease, detects fraud in banks, and powers translation tools used daily across Nigeria’s multilingual society. From Lagos fintech start-ups to federal government digitalisation projects, AI has quietly become part of the country’s technological infrastructure. Yet much of what is currently called “AI” is narrow in scope. It performs specific tasks, predicting loan defaults, recognising faces, and generating text, but it does not truly understand the world in the way humans do. Increasingly, however, researchers and…

OpenAI has begun testing advertisements within ChatGPT, marking a significant shift in how one of the world’s most widely used artificial intelligence platforms is funded. The move signals a new phase in the commercial evolution of generative AI, as operating costs continue to rise amid explosive global adoption. According to multiple industry reports, the initial ad testing is limited in scope and primarily targets users on ChatGPT’s free and entry-level plans. Higher-tier subscriptions, including Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, are expected to remain ad-free, at least for now. Ads remain separate from AI responses OpenAI has emphasised that advertisements will…

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has deployed artificial intelligence technology to process up to 10,000 business registration applications daily, marking a major shift in how corporate services are delivered in Nigeria. The Registrar-General of the commission disclosed this at the CAC’s 35th anniversary lecture in Abuja, saying the adoption of AI has significantly improved operational efficiency and reduced delays in business registration. According to the CAC, the surge in daily registrations reflects growing demand from entrepreneurs, digital businesses and small enterprises seeking formal recognition, as well as the commission’s ability to handle higher volumes through automation. The commission also confirmed…

The Angolan government has announced plans to pilot the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in selected primary schools as part of efforts to modernize the country’s education system and strengthen digital skills at an early age. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Education, will begin with 10 public primary schools drawn from 10 provinces. The pilot phase will introduce AI-supported learning tools and digital resources into classrooms, alongside basic infrastructure to support their use. Minister of Education Luísa Grilo said the programme is intended to support teaching and learning, stressing that AI will not replace teachers but rather assist…

The domain name AI.com has been acquired for approximately $70 million, marking what is widely regarded as the largest publicly disclosed website name deal in history. The buyer is Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, in a move that underscores the soaring strategic value of artificial intelligence in the global technology economy. The purchase places AI.com among the most valuable digital assets ever sold and reflects intensifying competition among technology and financial firms seeking prime positioning in the fast-expanding AI ecosystem. A landmark deal in internet history At an estimated $70mn, the AI.com transaction eclipses previous high-profile domain sales such as…

As Nigeria strengthens enforcement of its data protection framework, global fintech firm Optasia has called for the adoption of privacy-by-design principles in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) systems across the country’s financial services sector. The call comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny of how financial technology companies collect, process and store consumer data, particularly as AI-driven credit scoring, lending and payment solutions become more widespread. Nigeria’s data protection regime, anchored by the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), places stricter obligations on organisations handling personal data and introduces tougher compliance and accountability requirements. Speaking at a recent industry forum…