The Know Daily - Tuesday 4 February 2025

_{Read in 4m 43s ∙ Listening to Sade ∙}

The UK’s electricity grid was “the cleanest ever” last year, according to a new analysis by Carbon Brief. Fossil fuels made up only 29% of the UK’s electricity – a record low – while renewables hit an unprecedented peak of 45%.

🎥 AI assistance

Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist has sparked debate about the use of AI in films.

Tell me more.
Last month, the editor of The Brutalist revealed they used an AI voice-generating tool to make the leads – Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones – sound more authentic when they spoke Hungarian. It’s not the only film to do so. Emilia Pérez – which nabbed 13 nominations at the Oscars this year – also reportedly used the same AI tool to blend the singing voice of star Karla Sofía Gascón with another singer to increase her vocal range.

What’s the reaction been?
It’s raised discussions about whether the technology “impacts the authenticity of an actor’s performance” or indicates “automation of human creativity”. On social media, The Brutalist in particular has also faced criticism for the possibility of AI replacing the jobs of filmmakers and artists. 

What’s the other view?
In response to the criticism, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet clarified that AI was used only to “perfect” the actors’ accents for accuracy. The goal was to “preserve the authenticity” of Brody and Jones’ performances in Hungarian. Plus, it helped produce parts of the film that they neither had the time or money for, he added. What’s more, other filmmakers have revealed they’ve been experimenting with the technology, arguing that it makes the ideation process more efficient.

What’s the bigger story?
The challenge that AI poses to the livelihoods of filmmakers and artists. In fact, the recent actors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood were in large part due to this and resulted in “guardrails” being introduced to ensure the technology is used as a tool, not a replacement when it comes to scriptwriting. Plus, filmmaking isn’t the only sector seeing an increased use of AI. Other creative industries like music are likely to see musicians lose revenue to AI generated music, a recent study found. That being said, there are plenty of tools popping up to help artists safeguard their work.

🌃 Night-time economy: London mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a taskforce to help the capital’s declining nightlife venues.

• The bigger story: It’s not just London’s nightlife economy that’s struggling – it’s an issue seen across the UK, due to rising rents, increasing operation costs and low footfall.

🎻 Special strings: This violin from 1714 could become the most expensive musical instrument to ever be sold.

🤝 Space training: NASA will collaborate with UK research facility Blue Abyss to build the world’s deepest pool for sea and space research in Cornwall.

📈 Rising roles: These are the fastest-growing jobs in the UK.

🏃‍♀️ Marathon tourism: A growing number of runners are turning their holidays into “race-cations”.

💰 Bill increase: Six councils in England have been given the green light to raise council tax from April.

🧍‍♀️ Sul sul: The Sims is celebrating its 25th anniversary – let’s take a look back at the iconic video game franchise.

Help your friends feel better about the news. Get them to sign up using your personalised code 👉 https://theknowmedia.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

⭐ Get clicking - this tells our partners that readers are interested in The Know. Let’s get started with this one!

⭐ Donate to The Know - to make sure we can continue to publish throughout 2025. You can make a one-off or monthly contribution. We’d be very grateful ❣️

⭐ Add us to your contacts or primary inbox - this makes sure we reach your inbox (and everyone else’s) each morning.

The Know is on a mission to help everyone start their day feeling informed and hopeful. We only recommend things we genuinely love but sometimes we make money from the links and content we share. This directly supports keeping our journalism free for all.

Trivia answer: C) Team Germany took home the gold – check out their winning sculpture here.

How did you find today’s email?
😍 Loved it! | 😕 Could be better…

Need fewer emails? Click here to hear from us once a week.