☕️ Canada announces free contraception

Good morning!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely long weekend.

Luckily you won’t have to wait too much longer until the next public holiday, with Anzac Day coming up on Thursday, 25 April.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Quote of the day

“All in all, the crew is healthy, they’re being provided with everything they need, and they’re assisting in the [investigation]... Until the vessel is considered exceedingly unsafe for them to be on there, they remain on and continue to do the work they have signed on to do.”
The executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center speaking about the 22 crew members of the cargo ship that crashed into a bridge in Baltimore. They remain onboard to answer questions from investigators. The crash led to the deaths of six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time.

Stat of the day

5kgs
The weight of blocks of cocaine that washed up on Freshwater Beach and Curl Curl Beach in Sydney on Monday, according to the Daily Telegraph. It is believed to be part of a shipment of cocaine that has been washing up around the East Coast since last December, according to NSW Police.

Today in history

2020
Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 1 million for the first time.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has defended taking two jets with the Prime Minister last Thursday to an announcement about solar power in the Hunter Valley. Bowen said they were advised to get to the Hunter via Scone Airport, but the runway there was too small for one large jet. Bowen said: “The runway at Scone wasn't strong enough to take the large jet so the Air Force recommended and took the decision for two small jets.” Asked if they could have fit in one small jet, the Minister said not all staff would have fit.

• Two men have drowned after jumping into a pool at a Gold Coast property to save a toddler, who had slipped and fallen in. The men, who are the father and grandfather of the toddler, died at the scene, and the toddler survived. The family were understood to have been holidaying from Victoria at the apartment complex where the incident occurred. A report will now be prepared for the coroner.

I’ve got 1 minute

Canada has announced its plan to make contraception free

The Canadian Government has announced its intention to make common contraceptives free, such as birth control pills and intrauterine devices (IUDs).

It will also help cover the costs for patients who rely on diabetic medication.

The reforms still need the support of local provinces, which administer health care, before coming into effect.

Contraceptives

The Canadian Government has said it aims to cover the full costs of contraceptives for over nine million women in the country. As well as the pill and IUDs, it will include emergency contraception like the morning-after pill.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Women should be free to choose the contraceptives they need without cost getting in the way. So, we’re making contraceptives free.”

Diabetes

The Canadian Government also plans to subsidise the costs of diabetes medication, including syringes and glucose test strips.

It says more than 3.7 million people in Canada need access to diabetic medication, making it one of the most common chronic diseases in the country.

It also said the number of people living with diabetes in Canada has doubled in the past decade. It is expected to cost the healthcare system A$44 billion by 2028.

What next?

Canada’s Government has not yet announced when its plan will come into effect. It will need to first work with provinces and territories, which administer health care in the country, to agree to the roll-out.

Some provinces, such as British Columbia, already offer free prescription contraception.

Other provinces, such as Alberta, have already said they will not support the scheme because they would prefer more funding for its existing subsidy programs.

I’ve got 2 minutes

OpenAI has announced a new voice cloning tool. It says it is too risky to release in an election year.

OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, has announced a new tool that can recreate someone’s voice.

Users can upload a 15-second recording of a person’s voice, along with a paragraph of text, and the AI can read the text with a voice resembling that of the original speaker.

However, it said it doesn’t know if it will release it publicly yet, because it is still understanding its dangers – especially in a year where a large portion of the world’s population will be voting in elections.

OpenAI

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research company that is best known for launching the conversational bot ChatGPT, which can generate content like essays and poems from user prompts.

It initially launched in 2015 with the help of Tesla owner Elon Musk, however he left in 2018.

Its stated mission is to “ensure that artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity".

The technology has sparked global concerns about accuracy, security, and transparency.

Voice tool

Over the weekend, OpenAI announced it had developed new technology called ‘Voice Engine’.

It can recreate a person’s voice with just a 15-second sample.

It can also recreate a voice in a different language – meaning if you provide a sample in English, it can recreate the voice in French, or a number of other languages.

Not available

The tool is not available to the public, and no release date has been made.

The company said the potential for “misuse” is too large at the moment, and the company said it is still deciding “whether and how to deploy this technology at scale”.

So what are the potential risks?

Risks

There were several risks OpenAI identified.

One is the risk of deploying this tool in an election year for the U.S. (and many other countries). It said it is now looking at ways to prevent people from using the voices of politicians or other prominent figures.

It is also concerned about the tool being used to crack security measures for accessing bank accounts and other sensitive information.

The company said it’s working on adding a verification feature where the original speaker knows their voice is being added to the service, to be implemented before its public release.

“It's important that people around the world understand where this technology is headed, whether we ultimately deploy it widely ourselves or not,” the company said.

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Young people in Alice Springs are currently under a curfew, meaning they can't be outside between 6pm and 6am. The Northern Territory Government made the announcement in an effort to curb youth crime in the area.

It is a move that has garnered worldwide media attention with the likes of CNN and The New York Times all covering this story.

But what is the community saying? And does this deal with the root of the issue? We explain what is happening in today's deep dive.

Give me some good news

The Eastern European country of Slovakia has shut down its last coal-fired power plant.

This will mean that all electricity generated in the country will now be free of direct CO2 emissions. Slovakia originally planned to be a coal-free country by 2030, but it has now achieved this goal six years early.

The reason for the closure was because of the high cost of carbon emissions, which the power company said made coal unprofitable.

TDA tidbit

Journalists have been told to stop stealing things from U.S. President Joe Biden’s official aircraft, Air Force One.

(On trips, the U.S. President is usually joined by a group of journalists.)

Items like pillowcases, glasses and plates have all allegedly disappeared from the jet, leading the White House Correspondents’ Association to warn journalists that they’re not allowed to take souvenirs from the aircraft.

TDA asks