“Dumb” phones – mobiles without access to apps or the internet but that can make calls and send texts – might seem like the answer to beleaguered parents’ prayers. The perfect middle ground between denying a secondary schooler a phone altogether (bit too harsh) and handing them a portal to all the potential perils of social media and the web.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, says expert in youth media use Andy Phippen, who calls dumb phones an “exercise in nostalgia” when smartphones are such a big part of our daily lives. He explains how letting a child use a smartphone is a bit like giving them their first bike: requiring a learning process that’s going to take a lot of parental input and supervision.

The rising use of AI in creative industries is causing much apprehension, so it’s heartening to hear that some see it as a catalyst rather than the death of imagination. One of these is musician Will.i.am, who discussed the future of this technology with researcher Alex Connock.

And elsewhere on The Conversation, we’ve been covering the devastating floods in South Sudan, which may see a population permanently uprooted from their homes as a result of climate change for the first time.

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