Picture of the week: A scheme for the Seine?
Rivers can often be unpredictable, much like the state of the Seine in Paris recently. Due to a heavy bout of rainfall, the water level of the Seine rose significantly, causing its current to strengthen. This posed an issue for one of the Olympic Games opening ceremony rehearsals that had been slated for Monday. Such a situation naturally leads to doubts about the wisdom of planning an opening ceremony on a body of water.
As per the current plan, the opening ceremony set for July 26th will have athletes parade down the river on roughly 90 boats while spectators watch and cheer them on from the riverbanks. However, securing the planned 6km route is challenging even before factoring in the variable nature of the river.
Although, for the opening ceremony, there exists an alternative Plan B situated on land, there is no such alternative for the open-water swimming event and the swimming stretch of the triathlon. Both are still expected to take place in the Seine, despite the inability of the French authorities to confirm that the river is safe for swimming yet.
Even after the city of Paris has invested a staggering €1.4 billion in the last ten years to improve the river’s cleanliness, the Seine’s pollution levels remain high due to heavy rainfall, exceeding the safety limit set for Olympic and Paralympic swimming events. The situation may be ameliorated if dry weather persists in the forthcoming weeks. However, if this is not the case, the open-water swimming events may have to be cancelled. Anyone up for a duathlon instead?
David McWilliams: Aer Lingus pilots may not seem the most likely revolutionary leaders, but wages need to increase to maintain social harmony
Numbers Breakdown: When an email could have sufficed
52%
According to a survey by recruitment company Robert Walters, 52% of Irish professionals believe that virtual meetings negatively impact their individual productivity, dubbing it as “virtual burnout”.
27%
On the other hand, 27% stated that they can hold five or more virtual meetings per day. Suzanne Feeney, the country manager, noted: “Teams or Zoom meetings are still being scheduled for matters that could be resolved more efficiently through a quick message or email.”
37%
A survey conducted by a recruitment firm revealed that numerous professionals experience routine disruptions to their work due to virtual meetings. While 45% felt the productivity of these meetings is variable, a solid 12% maintained they aren’t constructive at all.
Gaining familiarity with: Udio and Suno
Two rising stars in the realm of digital music creation are Uncharted Labs, creators of an AI named Udio, and Suno, a distinct business. Both entities leverage copyrighted tunes and sounds to train their AI, which forms the backbone of the products. They offer users a chance to spawn music nearly instantly by typing a text command. This functionality is so potent that it has unnerved genuine music creators, causing major record labels like Universal, Sony, and Warner, to lodge legal suits against Udio and Suno in American courts for violating their intellectual property rights.
Udio, with its origins linked to Conor Durkan from Cork, makes an analogy of its AI training process to students who listen to music and analyse scores prior to creating their own compositions. Udio claims that ‘basic building blocks of musical expression’ belong to nobody. Similarly, Suno touts its ‘transformative’ technology purposed ‘to generate entirely new outputs’. However, isn’t it amazing to listen to this marvelous fresh output, especially when the chorus works with the basic elements of musical expression?
The Roster: Celebrity candidates in the UK elections
As the general elections in the UK draw close on the ensuing Thursday, anticipation is growing surrounding the exit poll announcement post voting closure at 10 pm, followed by the first set of electoral results shortly after 11 pm. Besides the gripping drama of high-ranking politicians potentially losing their seat, there’s an intriguing mix of celebrities vying for candidature set to ignite the proceedings through the night. So, who are they?
1. Dave Rowntree: Remember him as the drummer from Blur who graced many fan’s bedroom walls back in the 90s? Last year, around this time, he was gearing up for a performance at Wembley Stadium as part of the Blur reunion. His journey spanning several years led him to contest as a Labour candidate in the Conservative stronghold of Mid Sussex.
2. Tom Gray: This one’s yet another musician turned politician. Tom Gray, the co-founder of Gomez and champion of artists’ financial rights was selected (beating comedian and actor Eddie Izzard) to stand for Labour in the battleground constituency of Brighton Pavilion.
3. Josh Tapper, previously known for his stint on Gogglebox, has transitioned to a career in civil service and now stands as the Labour representative for Hertsmere in Hertfordshire. His competition includes ex-deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden.
4. James Cracknell, an ex-rower and double Olympic gold winner, will contest as a Conservative in Colchester. He will need to overcome a forecasted Labour swing in order to secure the seat.
5. And then there’s Count Binface. While not exactly a typical celebrity, he has become something of a perpetual figure in politics. This time around, he’s contesting Rishi Sunak’s seat in Richmond and Northallerton, North Yorkshire, ensuring his continued presence on TV screens. Part of his manifesto promises to “construct at least a single affordable dwelling”.