Tools from OpenAI, Meta, Google and many others now offer near-instant translation across dozens of languages, and they keep improving.

All this raises a vital question. If machines can do this faster and more accurately than humans, is investing years in learning another language still worth it?

The logic is appealing. Humans have always offloaded cognitive work onto tools. Writing reduces demands on our memory. Calculators removed the burden of mental arithmetic. AI sits within this long tradition. Used well, it can support learning and expand access in ways that matter enormously.

But there’s a difference between using a tool to extend your capabilities and using it to avoid doing something altogether. That distinction becomes important when you are not just replacing a skill, but a form of cognitive and cultural engagement.

The effort is the point

Effort plays a central role in how we acquire knowledge.

Psychologists use the phrase “desirable difficulties” to describe challenges that may feel inefficient, but produce stronger long-term retention and understanding.

Struggling with grammar, searching for the right word, or constructing meaning across multiple languages engages brain networks that support memory, attention and cognitive flexibility. Over time, they consolidate knowledge far more deeply than passive exposure.

Sustained mental engagement contributes to what researchers call cognitive resilience – the brain’s capacity to maintain function as we age. Managing multiple languages is one form of this engagement. It requires the brain to resolve competition, monitor context and adapt dynamically.

These are not trivial demands. And they’re difficult to achieve if you just use translation tools passively, such as resolving the meaning of a foreign phrase with the click of a button.

What multilingualism research actually shows

The evidence on multilingualism is often presented as a simple “bilingual advantage”, a shorthand that obscures a more complicated picture. Some studies report benefits for attention or working memory, while others find no differences. The truth appears to be more selective.

Our recent study examined cognitive performance in 94 adults aged 18 to 83, using both visuospatial and auditory tasks across working memory, attention and inhibition. Put simply, we looked at how people process and respond to information they see or mentally map out in space (visuospatial) and information they hear (auditory). Examples include remembering sounds, focusing on visual patterns, or ignoring distractions.

Our study measured multilingualism as a spectrum, not a category. This allowed us to capture diverse language backgrounds and experiences. Multilingual participants spoke a range of languages with varying levels of proficiency and daily use, reflecting the linguistic diversity common within multicultural communities.

Across most tasks, multilinguals and monolinguals performed similarly. However, one pattern was striking. Individuals with richer, more diverse multilingual experiences showed markedly better performance in visuospatial working memory. These effects were most pronounced in older people.

This suggests that multilingual experience doesn’t broadly enhance cognition, like some headlines claim. Instead, it may help preserve specific functions over time.

Separate population-level research has also linked multilingualism to later onset of Alzheimer’s disease and better overall ageing outcomes, though the mechanisms continue to be debated.

Overall, however, it appears that sustained use of multiple languages represents a form of mental activity with effects that accumulate across a lifetime.

What AI translation can’t replicate

AI translation excels at speed and accessibility. For many practical purposes, it works remarkably well. But it operates through pattern recognition, not lived understanding. It can struggle with cultural context, humour, register and emotionally embedded meaning, especially for languages with less representation in training data.

At best, AI captures literal dimensions of language while missing social ones. Consider the scene in the 2003 film Love Actually where Jamie, played by Colin Firth, delivers an awkward but sincere proposal to Aurelia in broken Portuguese.

It is moving because of the effort, vulnerability and intent his imperfect words carry. Resort to real-time translation software and what remains is information, not expression.

This is the deeper distinction: translation is not the same as participation. Learning a language involves understanding how people think, their values, and how meaning is shaped by context and history. This cultural literacy develops through interaction and experience. We can’t fully outsource that to systems that translate on demand.

The multilingual participants in our research spoke to this directly:

I definitely think in Telugu, but I remember numbers and count using English.

Afrikaans is the language of my heart and best used to express intense emotion. English is the language of business and used mostly in everyday life.

These are not descriptions of switching between translation modes. They are descriptions of inhabiting different selves.

AI will continue to change how we engage with language learning. It can personalise instruction, minimise barriers and provide feedback at scale. What it can’t do is replace the cognitive and cultural work that comes from learning a language. This work leads to a deeper relationship with how other people see the world, and with how you express yourself. And that difference still matters.

• Olivia Maurice is a PhD, Cognitive Neuroscience, Western Sydney University; University of Sydney
• Mark Antoniou is an Associate Professor, The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University
• This article first appeared in The Conversation

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DStv’s going the extra mile(s)

“DStv customers who bank with Discovery can earn up to 50% of their DStv package payment back in Discovery Miles, while they tune in for our world-class content line-up, which includes the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in June,” said Willington Ngwepe, CEO of MultiChoice.

Available to DStv Stream and decoder customers, the promotion will officially run until 30 June 2026. After that, you’re back to the initial 25% reward bonus. It’s currently available to customers with DStv Access, Family, Compact, Compact Plus, or DStv Premium. All of those, including Stream, can watch the FIFA World Cup, too.

Read More: Canal+ pledges R1.9 billion for “boost plan” to help right the DStv ship

Typically, not all of the qualifying Discovery Bank clients are eligible for the full 25% (now 50%) reward. Even if you’re one of the customers earning back 15%, that figure will be doubled during the campaign period. It’s a win-win situation regardless of your status as a Discovery member. Still, it’s worth taking a peek at the Ts and Cs.

All a Discovery Bank member has to do to unlock the benefits is pay their monthly DStv bill either via debit order or card — the same as when the initiative was first announced in November. If you already have this set up, you can sit and watch the Discovery Miles flow in. Of course, you’re then also paying for DStv. Can’t have everything.

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As you’d expect from a flagship, this thing ticks pretty much every box. The CPU has been upgraded from Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX to the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus. This change only nets you around 100MHz higher clock speed, but that should still result in an increase to your fps. Even if only by a little.

The GPU remains unchanged, since Nvidia has elected not to release anything new since the RTX 50-series came out in January last year. It’s still packing an RTX 5090, which is still the fastest mobile GPU available, with 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM and a TDP of 175W, with an extra 25W waiting for its opportunity.

The Razer Blade 18 packs the power

The other notable upgrade comes to the display. The 18in 16:10 IPS panel is now 100 nits brighter, claims Razer, and offers the option of two configurations. It’ll do 4K (3,840 x 2,400px) with a refresh rate of 240Hz, or FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200px) with a 440Hz refresh rate. Razer claims it covers the full DCI-P3 colour space.

Elsewhere, you get a 99Wh battery, the largest you can legally carry on some aeroplanes, a glass-covered trackpad that supports multiple touches, a backlit per-key lit keyboard, and three internal fans and a large vapour chamber to stop everything from melting.

There are plenty of ports: three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Ports (10Gbps), one Thunderbolt 5 port, one Thunderbolt 4 port, a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, and an SD card reader. The whole package comes out at 3.2kg, and that’s without accounting for the 400W power brick.

While it isn’t technically sold in South Africa, you can still buy it if your pockets are deep enough. How much you’ll have to pay depends on a few things, like how much RAM you want. It’s available with 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB kits. It’s also available with slightly weaker GPU options (down to the RTX 5070 Ti), last year’s Intel CPU, and 1TB or 2TB SSDs.

On the low end, you’re looking at a starting price of around R58,350 ($3,500) before any shipping and customs fees. If you want all the best parts, expect to pay closer to R116,700 (again, before any additional fees).

Source

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On Cloud 5

You’ll need to give up something rather personal, though. Your phone number. Link and verify it, and you’ll get the same storage as the rest of the world. Don’t, and you’ll have to make do with a third of the storage. For most readers, this is a non-issue, having created their accounts some time ago. But your kids? They’ll hate it.

Google seemingly confirmed the change on its support page. Where it used to say users were eligible for a full 15GB of storage, it now reads “up to 15GB”. That “up to” bit is reliant on the user handing over their deets. Giving out a fake one isn’t an option here either. Google needs to verify it first, which likely means punching in a code.

Read More: WhatsApp wants to back up your chats – and maybe charge for it

Google confirmed to Engadget that the change was just a test, meaning it may not stick around forever. While it didn’t initially confirm which regions were included, Android Authority notes that many of the user reports stemmed from African countries. We created a brand-new Google account, and did not receive the prompt. Instead, we started our new Google journey with 15GB of storage, seemingly confirming it hasn’t reached here… yet.

“We’re testing a new storage policy for new accounts created in select regions that will help us continue to provide a high quality storage service to our users, while encouraging users to improve their account security and data recovery,” said Google in a statement.

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But you can exploit the wonders of the modern world if you happen to have a spare R30,000 tucked away somewhere today. And a few hours to spare, because the Flux X26’s Kickstarter campaign concludes a little later today. After that, you’ll have to wait till these arrive at retail.

In Flux X26

You may not want to wait, though. The Flux X26’s creators reckon that their bike features 100Nm of torque, 112km of range, and a top speed of… Okay, it’s just 30km/h, but you’re supposed to be nipping down to the store on it, not trekking to the next town. Instead of doing it on the pavement (that’s apparently not allowed in South Africa, anyway), you can take the road.

It does mean you’re travelling about as fast as the average Bolt in a hurry, but it beats using your feet to travel. For those with a little need for speed, the X26 goes as fast as 48km/h. You’ll have to put it into off-road mode to get those speeds. We doubt Aotos’ bike makes sure you’re actually using it there, however. Do with that information what you must.

There is a slightly cheaper R24,500 edition of the electric bike on offer, if you don’t mind nabbing a few fewer bundled accessories. You could well miss out on integrated GPS, Bluetooth features, and a digital instrument cluster if you opt to pay less, though. Either way, you’d best hurry. There were just five hours left to back the Flux X26 at the time of writing.

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No honour in leaks

First, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: pricing. The Honor 600 and 600 Pro aren’t exactly what we’d call cheap, launching at R15,000 and R20,000 respectively. While these appear to be official — heck, customers can even purchase one directly from Vodacom — it’s possible Honor hasn’t yet supplied them with the approved price.

All that remains to be seen is whether Honor can ply users with enough features to make ’em forget about the prices. In the case of the Honor 600, it may just work. It’s loaded with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage — enough to get some decent mileage out of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor that runs the show.

Above it all sits the 6.57in AMOLED screen, which casts aside the sun’s rays with a claimed 8,000 nits peak brightness. A 120Hz refresh rate will even allow for some light gaming, though the SoC may just put the kibosh on your competitive gaming dreams. Give it something simple, like Subway Surfers, and you won’t be disappointed. It’s protected by an IP69K rating, which means dust and water (including heated jets of it) will have a harder time ruining your hardware.

Read More: Honor debuts the 600 Lite mid-ranger with a R9,000 price and dedicated AI button

Most of that R15,000 is going towards the 7,000mAh battery, and rightly so. It’s only a mere 100mAh behind the company’s far more premium flagship, the Honor Magic 8 Pro. The Honor 600 is pushed to even further heights with 80W wired charging, far ahead of the competition in this price range. The 200MP main shooter, accompanied by a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, is just the cherry on top.

Then there’s the Honor 600 Pro, built for the folks with an extra R5,000 burning a hole in their pocket. It doesn’t do all that much differently from its sibling, however. It’s certainly more powerful. Despite sharing the same 12GB of physical memory, it bumps the SoC up to the more capable Snapdragon 8 Elite, paired with 512GB of storage.

It’s more of the same elsewhere, too. You’ll find the same 7,000mAh battery, 6.57in AMOLED, and even the same 200/12MP shooters as its sibling. Honor has at least thrown another 50MP telephoto lens into the offering. Whether that’ll be enough to satiate the appetite of someone who just dropped a cool R20,000… we’ll have to wait and see.

As with any leak, these should be taken with a grain of salt and could be subject to change until Honor makes everything official. If the mobile channels already have stock, you shouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

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About the best news is that the studio is still hiring, suggesting that INKubator isn’t ready to start mass-producing vertical brainrot for Netflix yet. Less positive is the studio’s ambition to graduate from short- to long-form content. AI-created movie-length products? Who would watch that?

Wait, Netflix isn’t already writing films with AI?

According to the report (and one of its job listings), INKubator will focus on “creating animated shorts and specials using experimental GenAI-native production pipelines.” That sounds like generative AI will be involved in creation, not just in managing humans to work more effectively.

What the studio’s output will eventually look like remains a mystery. Netflix has yet to make anything like an official announcement, though it won’t shut up about using AI in everything. Going fully generated, even as an experiment, sounds like something the streaming platform would do.

Time will tell whether Netflix and its “next-generation, creative-led, GenAI-native animation studio” has what it takes to create something approaching creative. We’ve obviously got doubts, but we also don’t have eyes inside INKubator. Perhaps it’ll be awesome. Possibly, it’ll suck. But we’ll have to wait until the studio finishes hiring the people it needs to prompt the AI systems that do all the ‘work’.

Source

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Perhaps it’s the range of competition in the space that finally reminded Amazon that they have a warehouse of these things sitting somewhere, but the Kindle Scribe without Front Light (seriously) is set for a 10 June launch. Overseas, that is. It’ll take a short while to get to us.

Apprentice Scribe

Pricing isn’t known yet, but all of the ereader’s other details are out in the open. The Scribe without Front Light is a 16GB reader with an 11in display and stylus support. You’d expect that latter point, given the name. Also, as the title suggests, there’s no front light. It’ll likely be cheaper than the fully-featured version. Our original estimate was that it would retail for around R7,400.

Amazon’s latest AI features will be supported right out of the box, powered by speedier processors than older models. The missing Scribe weighs in at 400 grams and measures just 5.4mm thick. It’ll be a breeze to wave around and sketch notes on, at the very least.

The included stylus doesn’t use batteries, so readers/markers only need to worry about keeping one thing charged. Amazon likely has a special case for the ereader in store, too. If the online retailer can’t pull it off, some third-party seller probably will — with space for the Premium Pen to boot.

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UCounting Crows

They, of course, must follow Standard Bank’s rules to feel the benefits, which could potentially be substantial if they’re in good standing with the bank. First, customers need to visit either a Caltex or an Astron garage. From there, they must whip out an eligible Standard Bank credit card to pay for all the fuel they’re about to guzzle.

The bank claims that qualifying members can earn up to R15 back in Rewards Points per litre. For a customer in the right reward tier, filling up a 50-litre tank could earn them back R750. That likely won’t be the case for many customers, who may find themselves stuck in the lower tiers. Still, it’s better than nothing, regardless of standing.

Read More: FNB announces temporary eBucks Fuel Boost rewards, so customers can rest easy

“By increasing the fuel rewards our clients can earn for a limited period, we aim to provide meaningful relief at the pump, while helping free up household budgets for other essentials. Rewards Points can also be used at Rewards Retailers or redeemed into their savings account,” said Fayelizabeth Foster, head of loyalty and rewards at Standard Bank.

Standard Bank makes it clear that this is a temporary measure. There’s no use rushing off to the nearest garage today, anyway. The promotion will only kick off tomorrow, on Friday, 16 May, before ending on Wednesday, 15 July. The fuel price situation may have calmed by then, judging by the latest fuel price predictions.

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Dreaming of Australia

The Springbok games we’ve attended at Loftus and Ellis Park have become an annual tradition. Going to the World Cup has been a dream since the whole family was wrapped up in the glory of Siya Kolisi holding the trophy aloft not once, but twice. Now, we have to be there for the so-called three-peat. 

In our family, we wholeheartedly believe the Springboks will pull off the impossible and do it again. We won the last three games of the 2023 tournament in France by a single point – bringing new meaning to “clutch” games – and showed the rest of the world that we have the big-match temperament necessary to pull it off again. 

Combine that with how light-years ahead coach Rassie Erasmus is with his thinking and innovations, and it seems more than probable that we’ll still be the best team in 18 months’ time, with the best strategy to boot.

But planning a trip isn’t quite as reassuringly confident.  

None of the first-round games are against tier one competition: Italy (kicking off on 3 October 2027 at 05h45) will be the best of them, followed by Georgia (10 Oct 2027 at 08h45) and Romania (17 Oct 2027 at 13h15). I don’t particularly want to fly halfway around the world for those competitors, to be frank. 

But the round of 16 game against the third-placed team from either Pool D, E, or F (23 Oct at 12h45) looks exciting and is taking place in beautiful Perth. The Springboks are sure to advance to quarter-final one (30 Oct 2027 at 07h45) against the winner of game two of the round of 16 in Sydney.

Read More: SuperSport’s rugby future secured as Canal+ confirms successful talks with SA Rugby

That first weekend – currently – is when my son is likely to be on half-term break, meaning we could plan a ten-day trip and only miss four days of school. I would obviously prefer to go for the much more exciting semi-final match (5 Nov 2027 at 11h00) and the final (13 Nov at 11h00). Conveniently, they are both in Sydney, where a very good friend now lives. That’s our accommodation sorted at least. 

Then there is the question of price. The round of 16 games cost A$240 (∼R2,850) for adults (half that for kids) in category three, which I have yet to investigate. Category four is A$160 (∼R1,900) while category five is A$95 (∼R1,100). I figure the rest are higher up in the “nosebleeds” and even harder to see the game. 

The price doubles for the quarter-final, with category four tickets costing A$380 (∼R4,500), while also being the first that offers kids prices at A$190 (∼R2,250) a ticket, with category five at A$230 (∼R2,700).

The question of which exciting games across two weekends is also partly answered because there are no kids’ prices for the semi and final games – except for, as I belatedly noticed, the third-place playoff, a notoriously poorly attended game. 

Looking at flights is the next step in the process, but I will have to wait until the war in Iran reaches some sort of conclusion and normality is restored to global travel. 

So, there is my current plan for you other rugby-mad dads. Australia 2027 awaits.

Key dates:

Springboks first-round games: 

• 3 Oct 2027 at 05h45 vs Italy  
• 10 Oct 2027 at 08h45 vs Georgia  
• 17 Oct 2027 at 13h15 vs Romania  

Round of 16:

• 23 Oct 2027 at 12h45 vs the third-placed team in Pools D, E, and F  

Finals:

• QF1: 30 Oct 2027 at 07h45 vs the winner of the round of 16 (game 2)
• SF1: 5 Nov 2027 at 11h00 vs the winner of QF2 
• Final: 13 Nov 2027 at 11h00 vs the winner of SF2 

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