Office workers stream past glass towers reflecting the pale sky on a bright winter afternoon in Toronto’s financial district, their phones blazing with notifications from apps that promise convenience and connection. Few people stop to think about the invisible trail they leave behind, including the searches they conduct, the links they click, and the late-night scrolling sessions they do in the kitchen. However, that once-ephemeral trail is becoming more and more valuable. Allegations that browsing information and network usage patterns may be shared, combined, or sold through middlemen to feed the rapidly expanding AI data market have brought renewed attention…
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State lawmakers were discussing a topic that felt both incredibly modern and oddly antiquated on a muggy March morning in Tallahassee, where live oaks cast tangled shadows over the Capitol steps and the aroma of magnolia fills the air: should bloggers who cover politicians be required to register with the government? Senate Bill 1316, the bill that started this conversation, would have mandated that anyone who writes paid commentary about Florida’s governor, lawmakers, or cabinet members register with the Commission on Ethics or the Office of Legislative Services. Additionally, authors would be required to reveal their pay source and amount…
The streets of the suburbs of Didsbury and Hale in Manchester can seem strangely quiet on winter evenings. Long driveways are empty, curtains are drawn tight, and tall gates are still closed. Some homes have lights that never turn on. Rain-slick pavements reflect rows of graceful facades that look better captured on camera than actually inhabited. Heat sensors are a novel tool that city officials are considering using to demonstrate their belief that some of these properties—which are investment assets rather than residences—are vacant for the majority of the year. CategoryDetailsCityManchester, EnglandInitiativeUse of heat-sensing technology to detect unoccupied high-value homesPolicy…
Bicycles rest against the honey-colored college walls on a soggy Oxford evening as students rush across cobblestones with their scarves pulled tight against the wind. Screens glow late into the night in dorm rooms that are barely wider than their single beds. A few pupils are engaged in their studies. A few are playing video games. Additionally, more and more people are conversing with AI companions who refer to them as “love.” These digital partners are now being evicted from college housing by an increasing number of Oxford students. CategoryDetailsInstitutionUniversity of OxfordLocationOxford, EnglandFoundedc. 1096Current IssueStudent push to restrict AI romantic…
While schoolchildren huddle around maps that promise civilizations in every direction, visitors enter the Great Court of the British Museum, which is covered by glass, their footsteps resonating against the pale stone on a gloomy London morning. Millions of items are stored in crates and drawers outside of the public galleries, where they are labeled, cataloged, and occasionally forgotten. By 2028, the museum hopes to have digitized its entire collection, which could make over eight million artifacts available online. It sounds like a big goal. It sounds long overdue, too. CategoryDetailsInstitutionBritish MuseumLocationLondon, United KingdomEstablished1753Collection Size8+ million objectsDigitization GoalFull digital documentation…
St. George Street’s late-winter air has that recognizable Toronto chill that forces students to move swiftly between glass research labs and sandstone buildings. But there are warm conversations going on inside. The University of Toronto is drafting plans for what may turn out to be Canada’s first AI ethics campus, a location that aims to raise ethical concerns about the use of smarter machines rather than just building them. The move seems to convey both assurance and uneasiness. With innovations that influenced the current generative AI boom, the university contributed to the development of contemporary deep learning. It is now…
The glass facade of an admissions office at a downtown university in the capital of Ontario reflects a chilly winter sky on a chilly morning. Inside, employees examine digital apps that are neatly arranged in lines on bright screens. Predictive software has been used by some institutions for years to help sort through those files, predicting which applicants will accept offers, excel academically, or obtain visas. The province is now taking action, becoming the first in Canada to restrict the application of AI to college admissions decisions. According to officials at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, the action…
Students shuffle through slush-lined sidewalks and into brick school buildings that appear to be unchanged from decades ago on a gloomy Montreal morning. On the inside, however, the tension is fresh. More care is taken when opening laptops. Teachers move around more purposefully. Classroom rhythm is being altered by a subtle change in policy: following a spike in suspected cheating, a number of school boards have taken action to restrict or outright ban AI learning tools. The decision comes after a dramatic increase in assignments that seem to be algorithmically generated, according to administrators throughout Quebec. CategoryDetailsCityMontrealProvinceQuebecGoverning AuthorityCentre de services…
The dry smell of last season’s straw is still present in the wind on a piece of publicly owned land outside a prairie town. As pickup trucks move along gravel roads, metal poles with sensors on top silently measure the temperature and moisture content of the soil. What appears to be a typical field is turning into a test site for a new type of agriculture that is driven as much by data as by diesel. By securing the right to build smart farms on Crown land, Canadian startups are allowing automation, climate resilience, and precision agriculture experiments on publicly…
A civil servant in Quebec City is relaxing in her chair while testing a new digital assistant in French inside a bright government office with a view of the St. Lawrence River. The response is idiomatic, accurate, and prompt. No clumsy anglicizations. Without hesitation. Simply confident, clean French. That detail is crucial for a province where language is more than just a means of communication; it is an integral part of its identity. A French-speaking AI assistant has been introduced by the Quebec government to assist citizens in navigating public services, such as immigration and tax forms. It appears to…