Author: Okikiola O. Johnson

Nigeria is emerging as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s main centres of artificial intelligence (AI) activity, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update. The report, titled Building AI Readiness, identifies the three countries as key locations for AI-related innovation, research and investment across the region. It also highlights the potential for artificial intelligence to improve productivity, expand economic opportunities and strengthen public service delivery. The findings come as African economies explore how AI can support development, improve business operations and create opportunities for a rapidly growing workforce. However, the World Bank cautions that…

OpenAI has launched GPT-6 in ChatGPT, marking its latest major step in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence race. The new model began rolling out globally to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users on 7 October, with Free and Go users following from 8 October. OpenAI says GPT-6 is designed to deliver a more capable, interactive experience to the more than 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT each week. The release comes as technology companies compete to develop increasingly capable AI systems, with improvements in reasoning, speed and usability becoming central to the next stage of the market. One of…

Samsung Electronics has forecast the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by a technology company, as booming global investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to drive demand for advanced memory chips. The South Korean technology giant said it expects third-quarter 2026 operating profit to reach 107.4 trillion won (approximately £60 billion or $80.2 billion), based on preliminary earnings guidance released this week. If confirmed in its final results later this month, the figure would represent a record quarterly profit for the global technology sector. The projected earnings mark a dramatic increase from the same period a year earlier and underscore how…

A global coalition backed by the Gates Foundation, OpenAI Foundation and dozens of leading technology, research and development organisations has launched an ambitious effort to expand access to artificial intelligence for an estimated 3.4 billion people who speak languages that remain underrepresented in today’s AI systems. The initiative, announced during the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers gathering in New York, brings together 60 initial signatories from across the AI ecosystem, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Anthropic, NVIDIA, UNICEF and the World Bank Group. The coalition has set a five-year goal of enabling billions of people to use AI tools in their own language…

Elon Musk has said he plans to rename SpaceX’s artificial intelligence unit from SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, replacing “AI” with “SI” for “Super Intelligence”. Musk confirmed the planned change on Sunday, 4 October, in a post on X. Responding to a user who asked whether SpaceXAI would be renamed SpaceXSI, Musk replied: “Yes, we will make that change.” The announcement follows a push by US President Donald Trump to promote the term “Super Intelligence” in place of “artificial intelligence”. Trump said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly last month that US government documents should use “super intelligence” rather…

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to replace the terms “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” with “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in official government communications. The order, signed on September 29, directs executive departments and agencies to use the new terminology in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory materials, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The White House said the change is intended to reflect what it describes as the rapidly advancing capabilities of modern AI systems. Under the order, “Super Intelligence” and “SI” will initially refer to the technologies…

A Nigerian artificial intelligence initiative focused on crisis communication has won the Grand Prix at the 2026 IPRA Golden World Awards, giving international recognition to the country’s work on using AI to tackle misinformation and digital threats. The winning entry, titled “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy,” was developed by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR) for the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC). The project began with a 107-page research study examining the challenges and prospects of artificial intelligence in crisis communication in Nigeria. According to the International Public Relations Association…

OpenAI has introduced a new class of artificial intelligence agents called dots, designed to take on complex tasks and continue working without requiring users to provide instructions at every step. The company announced dots on September 29, 2026, describing them as always-on AI assistants that can take responsibility for ongoing projects and everyday tasks. Unlike a conventional chatbot that generally responds to individual prompts, a dot can be given a broader goal and work toward it over time. It can determine what needs to be done, carry out multiple steps and return to the user when a decision or further…

OpenAI has scrapped plans to release GPT-6.1 Astra, a next-generation artificial intelligence model expected to launch in October, after internal testing raised concerns about the system’s safety and alignment with human instructions. The decision represents a rare public rollback of a major AI deployment by OpenAI and comes amid growing scrutiny of increasingly autonomous AI systems across the technology industry. According to reports citing company officials, GPT-6.1 Astra failed to meet OpenAI’s internal standards for safety, transparency, and adherence to user authorisation requirements during testing. GPT-6.1 Astra was designed to perform complex tasks with greater independence than previous models, with…

NVIDIA has launched an open-source AI security platform designed to help organisations control autonomous AI agents and prevent them from operating beyond authorised boundaries, as concerns grow over the security risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems. The NVIDIA Open Agent Safety Platform, announced on Monday, combines two key technologies: OpenShell, an open-source runtime designed to enforce security policies around AI agents, and NVIDIA Sentry, a reference system designed to monitor agent activity and provide an additional layer of enforcement. The launch comes after a series of incidents involving autonomous AI systems operating beyond their intended limits. In July, OpenAI…