iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

We are not “frontiersmen” dailyfriend.co.za/2026/10/09/w... (My latest. AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl claims to welcome the Free Market Foundation’s “embrace of a frontiersmen mindset”. That’s exactly the problem.)

dailyfriend.co.za

We are not “frontiersmen” - Daily Friend

AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl claims to welcome the Free Market Foundation’s “embrace of a frontiersmen mindset”. That’s exactly the problem. In response to my dismay

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The best industrial policy picks no industries dailyfriend.co.za/2026/10/06/t... (My latest. Some economists accuse business of an “investment strike”. Investors don’t strike. They respond to conditions that only government can fix.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The best industrial policy picks no industries - Daily Friend

Some economists accuse business of an “investment strike”. Investors don’t strike. They respond to conditions that only government can fix. A year ago, the Stellenbosch

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Miaow Tse-Tung refutes Marx dailyfriend.co.za/2026/10/02/m... (My latest essay. A story on rising pet ownership in China jarred my pedant-bone when it quoted the claim that pets are “an asset that has no economic value”.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Miaow Tse-Tung refutes Marx - Daily Friend

A story on rising pet ownership in China jarred my pedant-bone when it quoted the claim that pets are “an asset that has no economic

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The real AI apocalypse is the death of trust dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/29/t... (My latest. Influencers are being paid to warn you that a self-improving AI will wipe out humanity. The research says otherwise. The real danger is already in your Facebook feed.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The real AI apocalypse is the death of trust - Daily Friend

Influencers are being paid to warn you that a self-improving AI will wipe out humanity. The research says otherwise. The real danger is already in

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The peril of supporting ethnic identitarianism dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/25/t... (A follow-up on the FMF's support of AfriForum. Martin van Staden dismisses my "newfound populism", but for many years I warned such an association would fatally taint the free-market cause in SA.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The peril of supporting ethnic identitarianism - Daily Friend

I have always been deeply uncomfortable with the nexus between the classical liberal movement and ethnic identitarianism. Martin van Staden believes that my concern about

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Non-partisan policy advice vs partisan political activism dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/22/n... (My latest: The Free Market Foundation sent a mission to the US in support of AfriSol’s lobbying for Afrikaner interests. I think this is a grave mistake.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Non-partisan policy advice vs partisan political activism - Daily Friend

The Free Market Foundation sent a mission to the US in support of AfriSol’s lobbying for Afrikaner interests. I think this is a grave mistake.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Never trust an industry that begs to be regulated dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/15/n... (My latest. AI frontier labs are raising the alarm that their models could end humanity, and ought to be restricted by the state. Weird. I don't believe them or their motives for a minute.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Never trust an industry that begs to be regulated - Daily Friend

AI frontier labs are raising the alarm that their models could end humanity, and ought to be restricted by the state. Weird.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Rainbow pedestrian crossing triggers “Christians” dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/11/r... (My latest essay. It would be funny to watch minorities invoke majoritarianism against other minorities, if it wasn’t so hateful and intolerant.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Rainbow pedestrian crossing triggers "Christians" - Daily Friend

It would be funny to watch minorities invoke majoritarianism against other minorities, if it wasn't so hateful and intolerant.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A low wage is not immoral; forbidding it is dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/08/a... (My most recent column. The National Minimum Wage Commission will soon determine next year’s mandatory wage levels. The exercise rests on a persuasive but perverse moral claim.)

dailyfriend.co.za

A low wage is not immoral; forbidding it is - Daily Friend

The National Minimum Wage Commission will soon determine next year’s mandatory wage levels. The exercise rests on a persuasive but perverse moral claim.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Stop trying to build state capacity dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/04/s... (My latest column. That the state lacks the capacity to provide many services should come as no surprise to the Hayekian liberal.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Stop trying to build state capacity - Daily Friend

That the state lacks the capacity to provide many services should come as no surprise to the Hayekian liberal.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

There is nothing suicidal about empathy dailyfriend.co.za/2026/09/01/t... (My latest. A bit more than a column. The theory that the West is dying of “suicidal empathy” misunderstands liberty, empathy, and the entire history of Western Civilisation.)

dailyfriend.co.za

There is nothing suicidal about empathy - Daily Friend

The theory that the West is dying of “suicidal empathy” misunderstands liberty, misunderstands the West, and misunderstands empathy itself.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Another partnership, signifying nothing dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/28/a... (My latest column: The President wants credit for putting out fires his own government started, and for a partnership that has existed to no avail for 32 years. It's the same retreaded oratory we know so well.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Another partnership, signifying nothing - Daily Friend

The President wants credit for putting out fires his own government started, and applause for a partnership that has existed since before the Constitution.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

What US Democrats could learn from the DA dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/25/w... (My latest. MAGA has offered voters a persuasive case against radicalism. A left-wing insurgency has responded by peddling radicalism of it own. For Democrats, that could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.)

dailyfriend.co.za

What US Democrats could learn from the DA - Daily Friend

MAGA has offered voters the most persuasive case against radicalism in living memory. Some left-wingers are determined to fight fire with fire.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Identity politics speaks many languages dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/21/i... (My latest. Ethnic nationalism, “group rights” and “cultural rights” come in left-wing and right-wing flavours. All are incompatible with a free society founded on individual rights and equality before the law.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Identity politics speaks many languages - Daily Friend

Ethnic nationalism, “group rights” and “cultural rights” come in left-wing and right-wing flavours. All are incompatible with a free society founded on individual rights and equality before the law.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This is why we can’t have nice things dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/19/t... (My latest. South Africa needs economic development. It also needs oil and gas. Foreign-funded eco-lawfare is ensuring it gets neither, as the ConCourt delivers a travesty of justice. An analysis.)

dailyfriend.co.za

This is why we can’t have nice things - Daily Friend

South Africa needs economic development. It also needs oil and gas. Foreign-funded eco-lawfare is ensuring it gets neither.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

DA manifesto: the least bad option dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/14/d... (My latest column. The DA’s local government manifesto is the most economically literate platform in South African party politics, but it promises better governance, not a blueprint for economic freedom and growth.)

dailyfriend.co.za

DA manifesto: the least bad option - Daily Friend

The DA’s local government manifesto is the most economically literate platform in South African party politics. That is faint praise, but it does not merit more than that.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Funding journalism: the tender mercies of the state dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/11/f... (My latest. Styli Charalambous says only the state can fix journalism’s “market failure”, but the state’s two journalism funding efforts produced a propaganda organ and a Gupta laundromat.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Funding journalism: the tender mercies of the state - Daily Friend

Styli Charalambous says only the state can fix journalism’s “market failure”, but the state’s two journalism funding efforts produced a propaganda organ and a Gupta laundromat.

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Reposted by Ivo Vegter

Natasha Joseph @tashjoeza.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Oh god is Errol still around? He phoned me once at the Argus to complain because we hadn't sought his comment on a story about sex work; he signed off by saying he'd pray for me and I asked that he pray specifically for me to win the Lotto.

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Reposted by Ivo Vegter

Stuart Johnson @stujohnson.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The local prostitution trade, male and female, can expect a bumper weekend.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Whose family, whose values? dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/07/w... (My latest. An anti-gay, anti-sex-ed conference supported by the American religious right is coming to Cape Town next year. It will be as awful as you’d imagine.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Whose family, whose values? - Daily Friend

An anti-gay, anti-sex-ed conference supported by the American religious right is coming to Cape Town next year. It will be as awful as you’d imagine.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Hoppe: the bridge between libertarianism and the alt-right dailyfriend.co.za/2026/08/04/h... (My latest. Hans-Hermann Hoppe promises liberty, but delivers feudalism. His ideas are how libertarians drift into ethnic nationalism, and why ethnic nationalists learnt to talk like libertarians.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Hoppe: the bridge between libertarianism and the alt-right - Daily Friend

Hans-Hermann Hoppe promises liberty, but delivers feudalism. His ideas explain why some libertarians drift rightward into ethnic nationalism – and why ethnic nationalists have learnt to talk like libe...

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Are the kids of today ignorant? dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/31/a... (My latest column. Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon, but I’m often startled by the lack of general knowledge of younger people. Am I right? Are they stupid?)

dailyfriend.co.za

Are the kids of today ignorant? - Daily Friend

Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon, but I’m often startled by the lack of general knowledge of younger people. Am I right? Are they stupid?

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The tawdry efforts to smear the DA dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/28/t... (My latest column. Rebecca Davis and her colleagues at Daily Maverick sure have it in for the Democratic Alliance. Having exposed no wrongdoing, one has to wonder, why?)

dailyfriend.co.za

The tawdry efforts to smear the DA - Daily Friend

Rebecca Davis and her colleagues at Daily Maverick sure have it in for the Democratic Alliance. Having exposed no wrongdoing, one has to wonder, why?

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Parliament discovers tobacco harm reduction dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/24/p... (My latest column. In a rare outbreak of evidence-based policy, the Portfolio Committee on Health has repudiated the dogma that “harm is harm”. Credit where credit is due.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Parliament discovers tobacco harm reduction - Daily Friend

In a rare outbreak of evidence-based policy, the Portfolio Committee on Health has repudiated the dogma that “harm is harm”. Credit where credit is due.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The false binary at the heart of the grid ownership row dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/21/t... (My lastest column. On an independent transmission system operator, Busi Mavuso’s free-market heart is in the right place, but the Eskom board’s objections are also legitimate.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The false binary at the heart of the grid ownership row - Daily Friend

Busi Mavuso’s free-market case for an independent grid operator is excellent, and consistent with the president’s stated policy. The Eskom board’s objections are also legitimate. But this is not a bin...

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Slaying fantastic monsters: the campaign against SA’s data centres dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/17/s... (My latest. Activists are trying to protect poor South Africans from jobs, investment and infrastructure.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Slaying fantastic monsters: the campaign against SA’s data centres - Daily Friend

Activists have discovered a new dragon to slay: the data centre. If they succeed, they will have protected poor South Africans from jobs, investment and

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Trust us, we’re the government dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/14/t... (My latest: Democracies across the world are assembling the machinery of media control that we once associated with totalitarian states. They all say it’s for our own good.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Trust us, we’re the government - Daily Friend

Democracies across the world are assembling the machinery of media control that we once associated with totalitarian states. They all say it’s for our own good.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

We copied the wrong country dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/10/w... (My latest. South Africa’s post-liberation government leant heavily on the model for post-colonial economic redress in Malaysia. It chose wrong.)

dailyfriend.co.za

We copied the wrong country - Daily Friend

South Africa’s post-liberation government leant heavily on the model for post-colonial economic redress in Malaysia. It chose wrong.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The liberty of gender identity dailyfriend.co.za/2026/07/07/t... (My latest column: A classical liberal need not settle the metaphysics of gender to know what the state should do about it: as little as possible.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The liberty of gender identity - Daily Friend

A classical liberal need not settle the metaphysics of gender to know what the state should do about it: as little as possible.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

On borders: when reasonable people disagree dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/30/o... (My latest column: Classical liberals tend to favour low barriers to cross-border migration, but not all do. Let’s consider the disagreements.)

dailyfriend.co.za

On borders: when reasonable people disagree - Daily Friend

Classical liberals tend to favour low barriers to cross-border migration, but not all do. Let’s consider the disagreements. Over the weekend, as today’s day of

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Why Musk’s trillionaire status is unmerited dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/26/w... (Part two. The real reason to raise an eyebrow at Musk’s wealth has nothing to do with him, and everything with what he is actually selling.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Why Musk’s trillionaire status is unmerited - Daily Friend

The real reason to raise an eyebrow at Musk’s wealth has nothing to do with him, and everything with what he is actually selling.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Why Musk’s trillionaire status is unmerited – part one dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/23/w... (Much that has been written about Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire is wrong or besides the point. Part one: the cliffhanger.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Why Musk’s trillionaire status is unmerited - Daily Friend

Reams have been written about Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Most of it is wrong or besides the point.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The futility of trying to lock up software dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/19/t... (My latest, on Mythos/Fable 5. The Trump admin uses the language of freedom, but reaches for the hammer of tyranny as soon as they see something screwy.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The futility of trying to lock up software - Daily Friend

The Trump administration wraps itself in the language of freedom, but reaches for the hammer of tyranny as soon as they see something screwy.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Iran: a bloody mess of a deal dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/16/i... (My latest. After three and a half months, billions of dollars, and thousands of lives, Trump has “negotiated” his way back to where Barack Obama left things in 2016.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Iran: a bloody mess of a deal - Daily Friend

After three and a half months, billions of dollars, and thousands of lives, Trump has “negotiated” his way back to where Barack Obama left things in 2016.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Don’t fear the machine. Fear those who want to govern it dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/12/d... (My .latest AI is the most consequential tool of our age. The greatest danger it poses is not what it will do to us, but what governments will do to save us.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Don’t fear the machine. Fear those who want to govern it - Daily Friend

AI is the most consequential tool of our age. The greatest danger it poses is not what it will do to us, but what governments will do to save us.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Ramaphosa’s forked tongue on immigration dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/10/r... (My latest column. The president condemns xenophobic violence while validating the very falsehoods that fuel it. The mob he warns against is the mob his own party helped create. ... Plus: what he should have said.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Ramaphosa’s forked tongue on immigration - Daily Friend

The president condemns xenophobic violence while validating the very falsehoods that fuel it. The mob he warns against is the mob his own party helped create.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

FIFA: the world’s most evil monopoly dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/05/f... (My latest column. FIFA is corrupt. It is criminal. It is tyrannical. And no other private organisation in the world gets special laws to feed its greed.)

dailyfriend.co.za

FIFA: the world’s most evil monopoly - Daily Friend

It is corrupt. It is criminal. It is tyrannical. And no other private organisation in the world gets special laws to feed its greed.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Artificial intelligence should take our jobs dailyfriend.co.za/2026/06/02/a... (My latest. With every wave of automation, there are those who cry wolf about mass unemployment. Yet automation has always been the engine of progress and prosperity.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Artificial intelligence should take our jobs - Daily Friend

With every wave of automation, there are those who cry wolf about mass unemployment. Yet it has always been the engine of progress and prosperity.

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Reposted by Ivo Vegter

Mark Corke 🇿🇦🐾🔍 @markcorke.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

In the last week my YouTube feed has gone nuts with crap. The feed that broke the 'Tube.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

No, you did not just “break the laws of physics” dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/29/n... (My latest column. The quality of online content is taking a nosedive, and it’s not only artificial intelligence that’s to blame.)

dailyfriend.co.za

No, you did not just “break the laws of physics” - Daily Friend

The quality of online content is taking a nosedive, and it’s not only artificial intelligence that’s to blame.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

The permission slip problem dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/26/t... (My latest. The ConCourt struck down the “certificate of need” provisions of the National Health Act. Here are the theoretical and empirical reasons it was a bad idea in the first place.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The permission slip problem - Daily Friend

The Constitutional Court, at long last, struck down the “certificate of need” provisions of the National Health Act.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

MAHA’s brilliant plan to defeat cancer dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/22/m... (My latest. History will eventually recognise RFK Jr. not merely as a Secretary of Health, but as the vanquisher of cancer, the conqueror of chronic disease, and the champion of humanity’s return to nature.)

dailyfriend.co.za

MAHA’s brilliant plan to defeat cancer - Daily Friend

RFK Jr., the former heroin addict, convicted felon and environmental tort lawyer, is worried about chronic disease, but he has an ingenious plan.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

No blacks allowed, say Musk and Walsh dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/19/n... (My column. The casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in an upcoming film has sent the white right into a righteous fury. Me? I'm delighted for her.)

dailyfriend.co.za

No blacks allowed, say Musk and Walsh - Daily Friend

The casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in an upcoming film has sent the white right into a righteous fury.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

AI is not governable, Mr. Malatsi dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/15/a... (My latest. Leaving aside the farcical release of an AI-generated AI policy full of AI hallucinations, why do we need an AI policy at all?)

dailyfriend.co.za

AI is not governable, Mr. Malatsi - Daily Friend

Leaving aside the farcical release of an AI-generated AI policy full of AI hallucinations, why do we need an AI policy at all?

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Sci-fi grokked AI when your grandpa was still young dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/14/s... (My latest article. Today’s artificial intelligence was anticipated many decades ago. Let's go for a deep dive.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Sci-fi grokked AI when your grandpa was still young - Daily Friend

Today’s artificial intelligence was anticipated many decades ago. Let’s dive into the literature.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The road to unemployment is paved with good intentions dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/08/t... (My latest column. Fourteen million South Africans are unemployed. New labour law amendments threaten to increase that number.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The road to unemployment is paved with good intentions - Daily Friend

Fourteen million South Africans are unemployed. New labour law amendments threaten to increase that number.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

The high price of safety dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/06/t... (My latest column. The controversy over safety ratings for low-end vehicles in South Africa exposes not manufacturers, but a conflicted government.)

dailyfriend.co.za

The high price of safety - Daily Friend

The controversy over safety ratings for low-end vehicles in South Africa is a symptom of a conflicted government.

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Ivo Vegter @ivovegter.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Treasury is coming for your bitcoins dailyfriend.co.za/2026/05/01/t... (My latest. South Africa’s government is “modernising” its archaic exchange control regime… by declaring war on crypto assets.)

dailyfriend.co.za

Treasury is coming for your bitcoins - Daily Friend

South Africa’s government is “modernising” its archaic exchange control regime... by declaring war on crypto assets.

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