Despite the desire of South African companies to begin implementing artificial intelligence, most are still in the testing phase. More than half of the over one hundred technology decision-makers—including CIOs, CTOs, senior engineers, and specialists—surveyed in the The Cloud Reckoning study, sponsored by Altron Digital Business, stated that their organizations plan to move AI operations to the cloud within the next 18 months.
This means that instead of purchasing expensive and scarce chips required for AI, companies will rent computing power from major data center operators. Approximately 55% of respondents ranked this task as their highest priority in cloud technologies, only slightly behind reporting and data systems.
However, only about a quarter of companies actually use AI in operational mode, meaning they apply it to perform real tasks such as processing customer requests or conducting business-critical transactions. The largest group, accounting for about 43%, is still engaged in pilot projects: something has been developed and is running in test mode but is not yet trusted with real business processes. Another 16% have plans but have not started work, and the remainder do not plan to use AI at all.
According to the respondents themselves, the main obstacle is not related to the availability of raw computing power. Only 7% reported that their infrastructure would require significant refinement to support AI at scale, and 8% did not consider this issue at all—although many surveyed had not yet put AI into production and might not know what requirements it would place on their systems. Overall, the survey results showed that participants pointed to more common problems: the need to connect new systems to legacy software, gaps in security and compliance, and a shortage of skills in cloud technologies.
One of the most interesting findings concerned data protection. Nearly half of the companies stated that they have formally reorganized their systems to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). Nevertheless, about one-fifth believes it complies with the requirements without even conducting an audit. This stance carries risks, as the Information Regulator has the right to issue directives and impose administrative fines of up to 10 million rand.
When asked what cloud computing would change the most in South Africa by 2028, nearly half chose the option: 'AI will transform how systems are built and their operating costs.' The shortage of qualified personnel was second with a figure of about 16%.
The study also revealed that hybrid computing has become an established choice, not a temporary solution: approximately half of organizations intentionally use some systems in rented data centers while keeping others on their own equipment. Microsoft Azure dominates, being used or considered by approximately 79% of organizations, while Amazon Web Services features in 53%. These figures include both deployed systems and those in the evaluation stage, so the gap in live workloads is likely smaller. About one in five companies considers local providers such as Liquid Intelligent Technologies or Xneelo. The most frequent source of difficulty was connecting cloud services with older software that businesses still rely on, noted by about 42% of participants.
The survey was conducted online via TechCentral in May and June 2026, sponsored by Altron Digital Business, although editorial control over the results belonged to TechCentral. Just over one hundred people participated after duplicates were removed. By position, about a third of respondents held roles as CIOs, CTOs, or heads of security departments, CEOs, or managing directors, and another third were IT or technology managers, directors, or vice presidents; the rest were architects, engineers, and other specialists. Half worked in small and medium-sized enterprises, and a fifth in organizations with more than 5000 employees. It is important to note that the respondents were self-selected readers and professionals who were contacted directly, so the results reflect a specific, technically savvy audience, not a representative sample of South African businesses. Given the sample size, individual percentages have a wide margin of error, and small differences between data should not be considered significant.
When considering matter and force, we establish a distinction between what constitutes objects, such as a soccer ball, and the invisible property that determines their movement. However, at subatomic scales, this separation is not as strict as it seems. A proton, for example, is composed of two up quarks and one down quark. Quarks are considered elementary particles, functioning as building blocks that cannot be decomposed into smaller units.
These particles are bound by the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces, along with gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force. This force is transmitted by another elementary particle called the gluon, which acts as a binding agent between quarks, hence the name derived from 'glue.'
Chinese researchers claim to have proven the existence of a particle composed almost entirely of gluons, known as a 'glueball'. Physicists have been searching for this particle for over five decades.
The evidence for this particle was obtained at the Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II (BEPC II), a particle accelerator located in the Chinese capital. The paper detailing these findings is available as a preprint on the arXiv repository but is still awaiting peer review in a scientific journal.
Despite this, the discovery has generated great interest in the scientific community. During the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP), held in Natal (RN), Brazil, the researchers presented preliminary data on the particle designated as X(2370). This particle was generated through the collision of electrons with positrons at high energy, exhibiting characteristics consistent with those expected for a glueball.
It is important to note that the glueball differs from the Higgs boson, discovered in 2012. While the Higgs is classified as an elementary particle, incapable of being fragmented, the glueball can be broken down into multiple gluons, which in turn are elementary particles.
The BEPC II, located at the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, is considered an ideal location for the search for glueballs because it generates large volumes of the J/Ψ particle. The products resulting from the decay of J/Ψ are rich in gluons, thus facilitating the investigation. According to Shan Jin, one of the scientists who led the study, it is estimated that X(2370) possesses approximately 90% gluons in its composition.
The new study involved the analysis of more than ten billion J/Ψ decays. The researchers observed that X(2370) associates similarly to particles containing various types of quarks. This behavior is expected, given that gluons interact uniformly with all species of quarks.
Characteristics of X(2370) had already been documented before. The particle was first identified in 2011 and has been the subject of subsequent studies to confirm if it corresponds to the glueball theorized by physicists. In 2024, the researchers demonstrated that its mass, angular momentum (spin), and other properties were aligned with theoretical glueball models.
Colin Morningstar, a particle physicist from Carnegie Mellon University, who did not participate in the research, commented in an interview with Science that the confirmation of these three expected properties for a glueball represents 'the greatest evidence that particles dominated by a glueball component can exist in nature.'
Although science requires verification in independent experiments, which may take years, the Beijing accelerator remains one of the few facilities dedicated to the search for glueballs.
Apple may modify its usual smartphone launch schedule. Information from supplier Pegatron suggests that the iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in the second half of 2026, while the standard version would only be released in the first quarter of 2027.
This calendar change would also affect other devices planned for the next generation. The iPhone 18e and a new model called iPhone Air are considered candidates for later release, as is a possible foldable iPhone from the Ultra line, expected among this autumn's premium products.
The main reason for this shift would be linked to limitations in component supply, specifically memory and chips. With more restricted parts availability, both manufacturers and customers like Apple would be restructuring production peaks, prioritizing the more expensive devices that generate higher profit margins.
The idea of a staggered launch is not new. Last year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and the portal The Information had already mentioned that Apple was considering concentrating the launches of its most advanced equipment for the fall of 2026.
More recently, another company supplier indicated that one of its clients was postponing a smartphone launch until early 2027. This new report, published by Economic Daily News and reported by MacRumors, adds an important detail: statements made by Pegatron executives during a presentation on the company's results.
According to the meeting report, the manufacturer confirmed that the iPhone 18 Pro series devices should be launched in the second half of this year. On the other hand, the conventional iPhone 18 would have its launch rescheduled for the first months of 2027.
This division in the calendar is consistent with previous rumors about the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air. These devices are also expected to be part of the batch arriving after the professional models.
The strategy would be directly related to the difficulties encountered in component supply. According to the Pegatron executives' report, the shortage of memory and chips would be altering corporate behavior during periods of high demand.
In this context, companies like Apple would be optimizing the distribution of available components among various products. Priority would be given to higher-value smartphones, as these have superior margins and consequently represent a more efficient use of a limited stock of parts.
If this schedule is confirmed, Apple would cease concentrating the entire next generation of iPhones in a single annual period. The most sophisticated models would be presented initially, while the more accessible positioning devices would be reserved for a second phase in 2027.
Among the premium launches expected for the second half is also the rumored Ultra foldable iPhone. The inclusion of this device alongside the Pro line would reinforce the possibility of the company dedicating its main showcase of 2026 to higher value-added products.
Google has implemented an extensive restructuring of its artificial intelligence division, relocating parts of the Google DeepMind teams to the corporate structure and concentrating strategic decisions under the leadership of Koray Kavukcuoglu. This information was reported by Reuters on Wednesday, the 12th.
This change occurs amid intense competition, where Google seeks to regain lost ground against competitors such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Furthermore, the move reduces the historical autonomy of the lab, established after its acquisition in 2014, aligning Gemini's development more closely with the company's commercial objectives.
In parallel, Sergey Brin resumed his influence on model training efforts, advocating for greater acceleration to reach technological frontiers. However, Google faces challenges, including delays in the launch of the next major version of Gemini and restrictions on available computational capacity.
The transformation gained public visibility on August 5th, the date Google announced changes in the management of Google DeepMind. Demis Hassabis stepped down from the executive leadership of the lab and assumed the presidency, while his successor, Koray Kavukcuoglu, took on the central role in the unit's direction.
This new setup formalized a power transition that was already underway. Kavukcuoglu had held the position of Google's principal artificial intelligence architect since 2025, a role created specifically to expand Gemini's presence in the company's products. Sources close to the operation informed Reuters that his influence over the model's direction has grown significantly since then.
Kavukcuoglu's position also brought him closer to the divisions responsible for AI revenue generation. Even before moving from London to Mountain View, he was seen as the main link between DeepMind and Google Cloud, a sector considered vital to Google's AI business.
The new arrangement impacted other prominent names. Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, who were part of the original Gemini technical team, left the company to join a new startup. The departure of these executives raised questions about the future of groups that had greater freedom to conduct research outside of direct model training.
During a general meeting held on August 6th, employees were notified that certain non-technical teams would be removed from the DeepMind structure, reporting directly to the corporate organization of Google. This measure reinforced among lab members the feeling that their independence was diminishing.
Management attempted to calm these concerns, assuring that the lab's daily activities would remain essentially unchanged. Hassabis would continue to focus on long-term issues related to the science and social impacts of artificial intelligence, while Kavukcuoglu would maintain control over Gemini.
However, this change comes amidst growing pressure for results. According to reports gathered by Reuters, internal tests forced Google to postpone the arrival of the next major version of Gemini by two months due to lower results compared to those achieved by competitors in areas such as programming.
Recent history contributed to this pressure. Gemini briefly led among competing models after an update released in November 2025, but subsequently lost ground against advances made by rival companies.
Sources involved in development attributed part of this difficulty to structural problems. Limitations in computational capacity availability and disagreements among project leaders hindered the concentration of resources in crucial areas, such as programming. Internal bureaucracy was also cited as a factor contributing to a slower release pace than that of more agile competitors.
In this scenario, Brin informally intervened with the teams responsible for model training. According to someone familiar with his involvement, the co-founder spent months pressuring employees for a faster approach to state-of-the-art systems.
Brin's influence also extended to resource allocation. Among the topics that received his attention was the concept of recursive self-improvement, linked to the possibility of AI systems improving their own capabilities without human intervention.
Although he no longer holds an executive position, Brin maintains influence due to his status as a co-founder. Reuters mentioned that he also adopted a posture of internal mobilization after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, when OpenAI's progress generated a strong internal reaction at Google.
For his part, Hassabis had reduced his direct involvement in Gemini's management after assisting with the model's launch in 2023. Sources cited by Reuters indicated that development responsibilities were progressively transferred to his subordinates.
The concentration of authority in Kavukcuoglu may also influence the dynamic between DeepMind and Google Cloud. A report obtained by Reuters suggests that cloud computing executives expect the change to minimize conflicts related to the distribution of artificial intelligence chips, known as TPUs.
Thus, the new design positions model strategy, Gemini's integration into products, and commercial requirements within a structure closer to Google headquarters. A company spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that Kavukcuoglu will have the final say on important decisions involving DeepMind.
