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Apple is looking to Google for an AI teammate

Apple is all-in on bringing generative AI capabilities to its devices. To do this, it’s angling to get a little help from its friends (read: a lot of help from one of its staunchest competitors).  

What happened: Apple is reportedly in talks with its best frenemy Google to have the search behemoth’s Gemini AI engine built into the iPhone to power upcoming AI features.

Canada inks hydrogen pact with Germany

Canada is buddying up with its pilsner-drinking, schnitzel-eating ally to kick-start a new clean energy trade market. 

What happened: Canada and Germany agreed to help accelerate the creation of a global market for clean hydrogen gas — a low-emission energy source used to power industrial machines, heavy vehicles, and residential heating — and connect Atlantic Canada producers with EU buyers. 

LinkedIn wants to add games

Attention all you jobseekers and headhunters out there: Invest in a headset, a gaming chair, and a whole bunch of Mountain Dew Code Red — because LinkedIn is for gamers now. 

What happened: LinkedIn confirmed that it has begun working on games for the platform in a bid to get users to spend more time "networking." Per one app researcher, the games will have a system where companies are ranked by how well their employees do. 

Boeing woes likely leading to higher airfare

The odds that Boeing’s quality control issues will impact you directly — say, by a panel blowing off your plane mid-flight — are still low. The odds that they’ll impact you indirectly through pricier airfare, however, are quite high. 

Driving the news: Airlines are warning that they are facing delays for new planes from Boeing, which will reduce the number of routes they can fly and likely push up prices for flyers. 

Canada’s got a measles problem

File this story under “diseases you thought you could stop worrying about”: Experts are worried that a recent surge in measles cases could soon get worse as kids return from the March break holidays. 

Driving the news: New modelling projections from researchers at Simon Fraser University show that Canada has a high chance of experiencing a significant measles outbreak, potentially infecting thousands.

Graeme Thompson on a year of elections

 On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Graeme Thompson to talk about the record-setting number of elections happening around the world this year, what the likely outcomes are in countries like the U.K. and U.S., and what it all means for Canada. 

What to do this weekend

Russians head to the polls this weekend

The Russian election is perhaps the only one this year for which the results had been reported well before the first ballots had been cast. 

Driving the news: People in Russia and occupied Ukraine are heading to the polls this weekend to vote in the national election, but given the lack of genuine opposition to current President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader is all but guaranteed another six years in power. 

The EU leads the charge to rein in AI

While some of us are still not entirely sure what a large language model is, EU lawmakers have gone ahead and passed the world’s first comprehensive AI regulation act.

Catch-up: The Artificial Intelligence Act — we love legislation with to-the-point titles — has been contentious, but it should be finalized in May, with implementation beginning next year. It stands to set the tone for global AI regulation and influence Big Tech developments.

How a Canadian startup fits into Apple’s AI goals

Apple’s latest stealthy acquisition brings a Canadian startup into AI plans that are slowly coming into focus.
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