レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

Australia's recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists' livelihoods, a representative said.

The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna's pop hit Like a Prayer created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI's place in music. It peaked at number two on the Australian Record Industry Association's (ARIA) top 20 Australian singles chart in May and remained in fourth place in August 25.

Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said. Tracks can be eligible only if humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments, among other requirements, the statement said. AI-generated music would also be ineligible for the Australian industry's prestigious ARIA awards.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said, These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is—to say the least—a rapidly developing space.

The ARIA Charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes, but a chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent, Herd added.

Eligible music must also be produced using legal AI services.

The Australian rules are in step with new principles released in July by the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The federation represents the recording industry worldwide.

The international guidelines state that to qualify for official music charts, a track must be substantially human-made.

Sydney Conservatorium of Music composer and lecturer Alexis Weaver told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the debate around AI in music was exceptionally fraught and very emotional for a lot of musicians, and so everyone will have a different opinion.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Giles Sims, 34, was sick of getting passed over for jobs because he didn't have a college degree.

But with a wife and a widowed mother to help support, he needed a quick solution. So, the laid-off web developer turned to one of a growing number of three-year degree programs.

I can't afford to be out of the workforce for four years. That just seems like forever, and the three-year made it seem less daunting, said Sims, a student at Ensign College, a private Salt Lake City school that recently changed all its bachelor's degrees to require fewer classes than a traditional four-year degree.

The condensed programs have exploded in popularity. As of this spring, 26 U.S. states have a college that offers at least one reduced-credit, three-year bachelor's, according to the nonprofit research group RAND.

Advocates say these programs are a solution to the college affordability crisis and a godsend for non-traditional students like Sims.

Critics, however, worry that they'll narrow too much what students learn, confuse employers, limit graduate school options, and create headaches in fields that require state licenses.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), for one, says the programs devalue the meaning of a college credential. This is not innovation. This is just cutting corners, said Todd Wolfson, AAUP's president.

For decades, colleges have offered accelerated programs that let students finish faster, often by forgoing long summer breaks, maximizing transfer credits, and condensing semester-long courses into shorter, five- to 10-week terms.

But those programs maintained the same course load, measured as credits. The new programs let students finish faster by completing as few as 90 credit hours. That shaves a year off the typical 120-hour bachelor's degree.

Three-year bachelor's degrees are common in other countries, including the United Kingdom, India, France, and Italy. But they can create complications for graduates seeking admission to U.S. graduate schools, which sometimes require extra coursework.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Doctors Without Borders or MSF said that a massive scale-up was needed to contain the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has spread so rapidly and so widely that it’s outpacing health authorities’ ability to respond, Trish Newport, an MSF emergency coordinator, said.

“We should be able to circumscribe the outbreak to go and do preventative activities all around where the outbreak has not yet started. So that zones, health zones, health areas, the Ministry of Health is ready to be able to respond. But we don't have the capacity today,” said Newport.

Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak has now killed over 2,300 people and become the deadliest outbreak of the disease on record in the Central African nation.

“Here, the speed, growth, and spread of this outbreak is much, much bigger. It's much faster and spreads much bigger than the outbreak in 2014 or the outbreak in 2018. This is extremely concerning,” she said.

This is Congo’s 17th and largest Ebola outbreak. The toll eclipses that of the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak when 2,299 deaths out of 3,481 cases were recorded.

The latest data shows 101 new cases and 33 deaths reported in the previous 24 hours. Over 1,000 people have recovered, while 730 remain in hospitals or isolation.

The outbreak has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other outbreak in history. The World Health Organization has said it is on track to surpass the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the deadliest on record with more than 11,000 deaths.

Newport said that community engagement remained one of the biggest challenges, adding that members need to be more aware of the outbreak and know what the symptoms are as well as what to do if they fall sick.

“I will say that this outbreak is horrible. It's horrible. It's horrible for families. We see family members that come in who have had 15 people in their family die. We rapidly need to scale up to be able to prevent more deaths from happening, more families and communities from being impacted,” she said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As mass production transforms the fashion industry, one young Kenyan designer is turning back to a traditional craft.

In Nairobi, Hillary Mukabwa, founder and lead designer of Mukabwa Studio, is using hand looms not only to make clothes and fabrics, but to preserve a piece of Kenya’s cultural heritage. For Mukabwa, choosing a traditional production method is a deliberate attempt to reconnect with a craft increasingly being pushed aside by modernization.

“Modernization kills the aspect of traditional craftsmen and ways of doing work,” Mukabwa says.

“I just wanted to be that person who kind of tries to revive the old practices, because this is where culture lives. This is where authenticity lives. And from that, we get to know our roots, know what we used to do, and getting to have unique items that are identified to us.

The process begins with preparing and measuring the yarn before threading it through the loom. Weavers then work the threads by hand, using a process that can take several days depending on the size and complexity of the fabric.

For Mukabwa, the slower pace is part of the craft's value.

Unlike electric machines designed for mass production, hand looms produce each piece with a distinct character. “These hand looms, first of all, they are traditional. So, you find that they carry a story,” Mukabwa says.

“It's a piece of art. Rather than producing masses, they produce with meaning, he adds.

It is a slow process. So, it is passion-led. You have to have passion for you to work in that area. And also, this machine produces fabric that no electric machine can produce. That is why we are sticking to it.

The studio's looms are operated by hand and foot, and Mukabwa has also adapted some of the equipment to make weaving more efficient.

Kenyan artisans with experience in weaving and machine-making produce the machines—a skill Mukabwa says is becoming increasingly rare.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Ask a teen what they want to be when they grow up, and there's a fair chance being an influencer is on their list.

Digital media and the people who star in it have been cultural mainstays for teens' entire lives, so creating social media, video, or podcast content seems a natural, albeit nontraditional, career path. And now they can earn a college degree in that very field.

Arizona State University (ASU) recently launched a new bachelor's degree in content creation, offered through its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The curriculum overlaps with that of ASU's mass communication and media studies degree, with the major departure being a slate of specialized electives on podcasting, studio production, and on-camera presence.

ASU's announcement was met with swift criticism from many sides—from people who feel content creation is not a legitimate profession to those who question the value of a college degree in launching a social media career.

But the ASU program is not the first of its kind. And the university, which declined an interview request about the new program, is not the first to offer content creation courses.

Universities, eager to compete for a shrinking student population, are rolling out new majors intended to prepare students for today's careers. Whether they lead to jobs can be up for debate.

To Brooke Erin Duffy, a communication professor at Cornell University, these college programs represent an inflection point. During the past year, Duffy said, institutions in education and beyond have been acknowledging content creation as a viable career path—even if the term influencer itself hits a nerve.

On social media, influencers are everywhere, sharing shopping recommendations and lifestyle content, or promoting beliefs about health or politics. Because even influencers with relatively small followings have loyal audiences, brands also often pay them to talk about products.

The image of a prototypical influencer, Duffy said, is usually a young girl who is snapping selfies and just reaping in tremendous rewards for seemingly not doing anything.

But that's not the reality for many content creators, who are working on media production, audience retention strategies, brand partnerships, and business relationships associated with their online presence.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced to expand airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 US cities.

Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said in a news release. The drones can carry packages up to 5 pounds.

The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times. Both giants rely on a mix of drones and drivers to deliver everything consumers have ordered.

The goal is not necessarily about cutting costs by replacing drivers and trucks—and drones that can only carry one package at a time would have a hard time doing that. But instead, these companies are using drones as one tool to help keep customers happy with quicker deliveries, banking on a faster delivery system attracting more shoppers.

Amazon’s plan would expand its drone delivery operation more than sixfold nationwide into hundreds of new communities, including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Boise metro areas. The drones will primarily fly in the suburbs, well away from skyscrapers and major airports that could cause problems. Each drone site serves multiple cities in a metro area, and Amazon would not say exactly how many new sites it is planning to begin flying from.

Hundreds of thousands of packages have already been delivered by Amazon drones this year, but even after this expansion, drones will still only handle a fraction of the hundreds of millions of package deliveries each year. In addition to only being able to carry 5 pounds, the drones Amazon builds face countless challenges, from tree cover to landscaping and inflatable pools that can make it hard to find a good drop zone.

There are also regulatory hurdles to overcome in every community where Amazon wants to set up operations. Noise concerns also pose a potential challenge.

“It’s still an experiment. It’s still in test-and-learn mode,” said Sucharita Kodali, who is a retail analyst with Forrester.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Paul Grinvalds has completed 114 marathons in all 50 states, but he still wilts when he races in temperatures beyond 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius).

It's the same for most runners, as the body can't cool down during exertion, and heat makes that even harder.

“One thing about marathoners is typically we're kind of stubborn,” said Grinvalds, 68, from West Des Moines, Iowa, who finds even temperatures in the 50s degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) a bit warm. “So if we have a goal and it's hot, a lot of times we're still going to try to do that goal, which is just stupid because you're almost guaranteed to have a very painful experience.”

Such an experience can also be dangerous, a reality that marathon organizers are having to confront as climate change, caused mostly by the burning of fuels like coal and gasoline, pushes temperatures up. To improve the chances of having the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) race in cooler weather, organizers are shifting race dates, starting earlier, and even giving options for participants to cut their runs short.

Starting in 2027, the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis-St. Paul will shift its more than 40-year tradition of holding the race on the first Sunday in October to later in the month. That decision comes after the cancellation of the marathon in 2023 because of record heat and humidity, and starting temperatures near 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) for the 2025 race.

Organizers of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Marathon last year similarly moved their annual race from August to September after canceling the 2024 race due to hot conditions. And other races, including the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas, and the Long Beach Marathon in Southern California, all moved their start times to earlier in the morning in search of cooler temperatures.

In Los Angeles in March, warm conditions prompted race organizers to give runners the option of stopping after 18 miles and still receiving a finisher's medal. Less than 5% of participants opted for the shorter finish, and only 14 of roughly 27,000 runners were treated at a hospital, with all released the same day. Still, the move led to some online derision.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Companies that secretly vary prices based on how much they think individual customers will pay could face federal charges under a proposed policy released by the Federal Trade Commission.

When consumers see a listed price, they expect it to be (the) same price that everyone else sees, not the retailer's estimate of how much they are willing to pay based on their personal data, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

The FTC has had its eye on personalized pricing for several years. In a preliminary report filed in January 2025, the agency found that grocers, clothing companies, and others were using third-party companies to help them individualize online prices based on shoppers' locations, browsing histories and other factors, including how long they left items in their virtual shopping carts.

In one hypothetical example, the FTC said a consumer profiled as a new parent might be shown higher-priced baby thermometers on the first page of their search results.

Ferguson said the FTC doesn't have the legal authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances. But under the proposed policy, businesses would have to clearly and conspicuously disclose if they are engaging in personalized pricing and share the types of data they're using to set those prices.

The proposed policy states that companies engaged in personalized pricing without revealing the practice and the data behind it could violate the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices in the marketplace.

The FTC is seeking comment on the policy for 30 days. Several retail trade groups didn't comment directly on the FTC's proposal.

The National Retail Federation, which represents big companies like Walmart, Target, and Macy's as well as smaller stores, said retailers want to continue to offer incentives like loyalty and rewards programs, which collect personal data and provide offers tailored to individuals.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

OpenAI introduced a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers—the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence—who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life, and even companionship.

The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens is tailored for kids ages 13 to 17 with stronger protections, including content restrictions around things like self-harm and romantic chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays.

The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said.

“We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we’re showing up with the right developmental stage when we’re not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we’re also making sure that they’re not exposed to material that they shouldn’t be exposed to,” said Ann O'Leary, vice president of global policy at OpenAI.

The effectiveness of the safeguards remains to be seen, said Brendan Bouffard, associate general counsel for AI and privacy at children’s advocacy group Fairplay. He said it is unclear whether OpenAI’s actions are enough to address young users' compulsive use of and emotional dependence on chatbots.

“Announcements like these can be seen as a step in the right direction,” he said. “But I also would caution against parents being lured into this false sense of safety based on the announcement.”

Parents, educators, and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children's use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork. While even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and developing unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers' brains are not yet fully developed, making them particularly vulnerable.

In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship, and half use AI companions regularly, according to a 2025 study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Paris has transformed into a global cycling capital in recent years, and for international tourists this development offers a new way of seeing some of the city’s most famous sights and landmarks.

In June, Paris recorded about 3.8 million tourists, roughly 3% more than in the same month last summer, according to the city’s Tourism Office.

And as visitor numbers climb, more travelers are choosing bicycles instead of buses or walking to get around.

Among them is the Buss family, from Webster, New York. The family of five is on a 12-day trip to Europe, celebrating the graduation of their two eldest children.

After having spent six days in Tenerife, they came to Paris and decided to hop on a 3-hour guided bike tour around the French capital, cycling next to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Panthéon.

For Jamie Buss, a 49-year-old project manager working for a nonprofit, and her husband Mike, a 55-year-old IT worker for US news outlets, the bike tour allows them to see, with their children Tyler, 22, Ella, 18, and Lucy, 16, as many landmarks as possible given the little time they have to visit the capital.

“It's a unique tour because I'm used to writing things down, either writing with pen and paper or putting things in my notes to remember them,” explained Jamie.

“I like to have my notes refer to things, and you don't get that because you have to keep your hands on the bike at all times. But it's also nice to just be in the moment, and then we can come back and take a look at things a second time later and have a little bit more time to absorb the history and the culture of it all,” Jamie added.

From here, the family will finish their travels in Amsterdam, another city known for its cycling culture, before flying back to the United States.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.