Today’s Big Story

The Digital Dash

Smart displays are transforming modern cars (and getting bigger every year)

When it comes to screens, can a display ever be too big? When we’re talking about TVs, the answer is probably “no”. What about phone screens? Then, maybe, right? After all, you don’t want to have to carry a huge screen around. And that might be the case with cars. There’s a veritable arms race happening with automakers, as they digitize the cockpits of new cars and the digital dashboards continue to stretch across the car.

Genesis, known for their incredibly tasteful design, is refreshing the look of its GV70 midsize luxury SUV and with it, comes a 27-inch infotainment and digital dashboard that has been combined into one fully integrated OLED unit—rather than the more common arrangement where two smaller screens are nestled next to each other in an attempt to look like one massive letterbox screen.

Of course, that’s nothing compared to the new Lincoln Nautilus, which is equipped with the automotive equivalent of an IMAX screen—a massive 48-inch curved display with crisp 4K graphics stretching the full length of the dash. The Verge says this “pillar-to-pillar panoramic display is the most eye-catching new feature to come to Ford’s vehicle lineup in a long time.”

The screen certainly has its advantages: They’re adaptable and customizable. They can be updated with realtime information and improved upon with just a software update. Higher-resolution panels are easier to read in various lighting conditions, minimising glare with better visibility. Then again, they’re sometimes fancier than they need to be.

Drivers now traverse layers of menus to simply switch radio channels or turn off the heated seat. When digital dashboards seemingly extend for miles, it take a lot of time to watch everything being displayed. Buttons and knobs are scarce—and nearly extinct. It’s led to “screen fatigue”, reports ABC News. According to a recent J.D. Power study, overly minimal infotainment systems are making motorists unhappy, so some automakers are experimenting with bringing a few well-chosen buttons back. It’s all about balance, right?

The Floating Gaza Pier Is Being Built

The temporary floating structure will be ready to receive food and other aid early next month

The U.S. military began construction of a temporary pier off the Gaza coast that aims to facilitate the delivery of more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave. Officials said the pier should be operational by early May, with plans to move 90 truckloads of aid daily at first, with up to 150 expected later on.

The plan was first announced by President Joe Biden in March as part of efforts to tackle hunger in Gaza compounded by problems with aid deliveries, as Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas. According to the BBC, the UN has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" and children are starving to death.

U.S. authorities have said the pier is intended to supplement, not replace, existing aid deliveries over land. Aid, primarily food, will be procured from countries around the world. Some of the items that would come through the maritime corridor would include nutrient-dense food bars, sourced from Dubai; foods intended to treat severe malnutrition in children, sourced from Kenya; and relief supplies, including hygiene kits, sourced from Europe.

The Immigration Paradox

The economy needs immigrant workers to run smoothly

The United States is experiencing a labor shortage, according to Dhaval Joshi, chief strategist at BCA Research, an economic analysis firm. Blame the pandemic. It led many older workers to retire early. Plus, an estimated 1.7 million native-born workers ages 25 to 55 have dropped out of the workforce since the pandemic. The surge of people who have immigrated to the U.S. legally or illegally since 2022 has helped fill those job vacancies. Experts say that’s helped stave off a recession.

According to the Washington Post, immigrants have been willing to take jobs that native-born Americans are unwilling to do, such as the backbreaking work of harvesting potatoes, building homes and caring for the elderly. They’re also filling high-tech positions that Americans cannot do because there are insufficient numbers of us with the necessary skills. “And then there are the jobs we native-born Americans might theoretically be willing and able to fill, but there simply aren’t enough of us around to fill them.”

Axios says the current situation we find ourselves in offers a preview of what's to come. Efforts to stem the border crisis are happening alongside conditions unique to boosting the economy. And both “will continue to shape political debates for decades.”

The Mona Lisa Is Moving

New room inside the Louvre would give thousands of daily visitors better experience

The Louvre in France is considering relocating the iconic Mona Lisa to her own basement room in an effort to enhance accessibility for visitors to view the renowned masterpiece. With millions of visitors flocking to catch a glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the current overcrowding and limited space within the gallery have led to numerous complaints about the difficulty of experiencing the painting firsthand.

Management at the Louvre has proposed the idea of providing Mona Lisa with her own dedicated space to alleviate these issues and improve the overall visitor experience. Laurence des Cars, the museum’s director, expressed the sentiment that relocating Mona Lisa could potentially mitigate public disappointment, reports Artnews: “Moving ‘Mona Lisa’ to a separate room could end the public’s disappointment,” said des Cars. “Visitors are not being properly received in the current room so we feel that we’re not doing our job properly.”

The Louvre, the world’s most popular museum, welcomed close to 10 million visitors in 2023. But many museum-goers complain about waiting in line for hours, the stuffy conditions, and only getting to spend a few seconds viewing the painting. The Mona Lisa hangs in the museum’s Salle des États (state room), the museum’s biggest gallery, housed in a protective bulletproof glass case, but Leonardo da Vinci’s masterwork is not alone there. It’s currently accompanied by works of 16th-century Venetian masters, and across the room hangs the Louvre’s biggest painting, The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese.

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