PRESS REVIEW – Friday, February 13: The European press comes down hard on the IOC's decision to disqualify Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych over his helmet. Also, we look at new and unexpected applications of artificial intelligence, as well as its colossal water and energy cost. Finally, we bring you the latest in the world of love, in the countdown to Valentine's Day.
European papers show sympathy with Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian athlete disqualified from the Winter Olympics over a helmet the IOC saw as political. Support for the skeleton slider has created a moment of national unity for Ukraine in trying times, according to Le Parisien, and in the absence of his shot at an Olympic medal, President Volodymyr Zelensky is awarding Heraskevych the Order of Freedom, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Also in the news, The Financial Times reports on how Australian farmers are putting an end to "decades of rows over miscounts" of sheep which have "stoked distrust in the outback". That's right: they're using AI to count sheep. Meanwhile, journalists at French Catholic paper La Croix have been asking priests about their use of artificial intelligence. The consensus seemed to be that it's a helpful assistant in everyday working life, but its attempts at sermon writing come out as "bland" and "derivative".
But there's a dark side to all this too: a cartoon in French paper L'Humanité parodies the recently publicised companionship AI necklaces, reinforcing the wearer's fears that no one likes them!
Libération has a two-page feature on a vast sprawling data centre complex in the Nevadan desert. The US state is experiencing a big tech gold rush with its below-average electricity prices and enormous tax incentives, but locals fear the data centre infrastructure will put undue pressure on an already depleted water supply.
Meanwhile, in the world of romance, you've heard of Valentine's Day on February 14, but did you know that February 16 is the number one day for sending apology cards? The Times has this scoop from online greetings card company Moonpig. Furthermore, the two weeks before Valentine's Day see a spike in Google searches for "how to break up". At least those dark weeks are coming to an end.
Finally, after only 18 percent of weddings in Spain were church weddings in 2024, the Spanish clergy are trying to entice couples into the sacrament of holy matrimony using an online video game for couples, as the Guardian explains. It involves exercises on "communication, fidelity, "the beauty of sexuality" and "conflict resolution". We must add, though, that other Valentine's Day activities are, of course, also available.
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