Transcript

Hello, everyone! Welcome to “Just a Moment News.” I’m Erika, and today, on September 28th, 2024, we’re diving into some intriguing stories from around the globe.

First up, Eskom, South Africa’s primary electricity provider, is under scrutiny as it seeks a thirty-six point one five percent increase in electricity prices. This request comes amidst criticisms over its financial management and operational inefficiencies. Notably, the company has been spotlighted for questionable expenditures, including two hundred and thirty-eight thousand Rand on a mop and eighty thousand Rand on knee guards. Despite receiving substantial bailouts from the government, Eskom continues to struggle with losses attributed to these inefficiencies rather than low electricity prices. The company, led by chairman Mteto Nyati, is now looking to benchmark its performance against international standards in an effort to rectify its course.

Moving over to the hospitality sector, Southern Sun Limited has secured a fifty-year lease for some prime properties along Durban’s beachfront. This includes the iconic 734-room Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani hotel. The company plans to invest around one billion Rand in refurbishing this and other nearby properties. This investment is expected to boost the local economy by creating jobs and enhancing Durban’s appeal as a tourist destination. Additionally, Southern Sun is contributing five million Rand towards the restoration of the historic Sunken Gardens near the hotels.

In the tech world, Google DeepMind’s AlphaChip is making waves. This open-source AI system, which optimizes computer chip designs, can complete tasks in hours that previously took months. AlphaChip has already improved the layout of Google’s Tensor Processing Units and is now being adopted by other major players in the semiconductor industry. This innovation could potentially revolutionize chip production, making it faster, more efficient, and cost-effective across various industries.

Over at OpenAI, the company is experiencing rapid growth but also facing significant financial challenges. Despite projecting revenues of three point seven billion dollars this year, OpenAI anticipates a loss of about five billion dollars, largely due to hefty operational costs like cloud computing. The company, known for its popular AI model ChatGPT, is exploring new funding opportunities and transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit model to sustain its ambitious growth targets.

In a different kind of tech story, a political consultant named Steven Kramer has been fined six million dollars by the Federal Communications Commission for using AI to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice in robocalls. These calls, which were part of a campaign tactic, urged voters in New Hampshire to skip the state’s Democratic primary. This incident has ignited discussions about the ethical use of AI in political campaigns and the need for clearer regulations.

Lastly, a remarkable archaeological find in Denmark, where fifty Viking-era skeletons have been unearthed near Odense. These well-preserved remains, accompanied by various artifacts, are providing valuable insights into the lives of Nordic people from around 850 to 970. Researchers are particularly excited as Viking graves with such intact remains and artifacts are quite rare.

That wraps up today’s episode of “Just a Moment News.” I’m Erika, and I hope you found these stories as fascinating as I did. Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll catch up again soon with more news from around the world. Goodbye for now!

Keywords - moment, daily, news