The Know Daily - Tuesday 16 May 2023

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Scientists are using AI algorithms to identify the clicks and calls of marine life, as part of a ten-year project mapping noise under the sea. Researchers recorded the sounds of fish and plant life on Goa’s coral reef in India and then used algorithms to correctly identify the various species - saving time and money. Now that’s some sea-riously good tech!

🧑‍🎓 A softer approach to student drug use

Universities are softening their drug policies following pressure from student activists.

What’s the story?
Universities across the UK are dropping “zero tolerance” policies on drug use and instead promoting “harm reduction” measures, according to a report in The Times today. These include urging students to take substances with friends so someone can call an ambulance if necessary, offering free drug-testing kits and referring students to wellbeing services.

What’s brought about the change?
The paper says this “revolution” in universities’ attitudes has been guided by the lobbying group Students for Sensible Drug Policy UK (SSDP), which campaigns for the decriminalisation and regulation of drugs.

According to The Times, SSDP said it supports universities to ensure “students are as safe and healthy as possible and can access support without fear of punishment.”

How has the news been received?
Former home secretary Priti Patel has labelled the shift in policy as “an absolute disgrace”. “Any parent would be very worried about sending their youngster to university if there is going to be an acceptance that students are going to take drugs,” she said.

SSDP said that it recognises that students take drugs and hopes to reduce the related harms.

What else?
Late last year, a new taskforce was set up to help universities set out a common approach to reduce harms from drug use and to better tackle supply. The new framework, overseen by Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, is set to be announced on Thursday.

��️ Is the media in meltdown?

Media company Vice has filed for bankruptcy protection, with other digital-first publications such as BuzzFeed and Vox Media laying off staff in recent months. What’s driving the trend?

How did Vice get here?
Vice, founded as a punk magazine in Montreal in 1994, quickly made a name for itself as an experimental and youth-focused platform promising to disrupt the traditional media landscape. Once hailed as a “global success” by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, it received millions of dollars of investment and was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017.

But on Monday, Vice filed for bankruptcy protection in the US amid a cut-price sale to a group of its lenders - and it could be taken over for just $225 million. The platform said that it “expects to emerge as a financially healthy and stronger company in two to three months”.

What’s the bigger picture?
In April, BuzzFeed announced that it was shutting down its news division and cutting 15% of its workforce amid financial challenges and a slump in advertising revenue. Vox Media and Insider (formerly Business Insider) have also laid off staff in recent months, while gal-dem magazine folded after eight years.

Why is this happening?
Vice has been plagued by financial difficulties and executive turmoil. There’s also a feeling that the platform has been unable to move with the times - successfully attracting millennial audiences but failing to achieve the same with Gen Z.

The ever-changing strategies of large tech groups, such as Meta, has heavily impacted digital media brands as a whole, as has the seemingly limitless popularity of platforms like TikTok, which have “siphoned younger audiences”, said the FT.

Are any platforms doing well?
Some older media companies appear to be faring better. Legacy titles such as The New York Times (NYT) and The Times - which is making a sustained profit for the first time since 1981 - have diversified their income, making money from subscriptions, advertising and events.

The latest Vice news serves as a reminder of how precarious the industry is and of the importance of diverse and free sources of journalism. As former NYT executive editor Jill Abramson pointed out, variety can only be a good thing. “Journalism, a bedrock of democracy, thrives when different voices and informed audiences make themselves heard,” she said.

🗣️ Digital therapy: Nine online talking-therapy treatments for anxiety or depression have been given the go-ahead for use by the NHS in England. The treatments are delivered via an app or website, but psychiatrists don’t see them as a long-term solution.

📈 Cost of living: ​​Some meat and vegetable products at supermarkets have almost doubled in price over the past year, according to new research by the consumer group Which?. The study has prompted fresh calls for government intervention.

🍬 Not so sweet: Replacing sugar with sweeteners does not help people manage their weight in the long term and could actually raise the risk of various health problems, the World Health Organisation has said.

🚌 Driverless buses: Autonomous buses have begun operating in Edinburgh, marking a UK first. Although the vehicles are described as “driverless”, they do have two staff members on board.

👏 “Kind of historic”: 81-year-old Martha Stewart has become Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s oldest cover model. The cookbook author said she wanted to prove that age doesn’t matter when it comes to things like “friendship or in terms of success”.

Trivia answer: C) Dubai - income from international tourists was a whopping $29.42 billion last year. Check out the other cities where tourists spent the most in 2022.

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