All Tech stories

Poison pill threatens AI image models

If your favourite AI image generator starts spitting out some weird stuff, we may have an explanation.

Driving the news: Researchers successfully created a method to trick image-generating AI models like DALL-E into wrongly characterizing images during their training, according to their recently published paper.

Alberta turns to AI to help fight wildfires

On the heels of a record-breaking wildfire season, the country is turning to AI for solutions.  

Driving the news: Alberta is adopting artificial intelligence to help the province’s wildfire agency predict where and when wildfires will start. By partnering with software company AltaML, the province will use Microsoft Azure to create next-day fire-likelihood forecasts. 

The Godfathers of AI can’t agree on how dangerous it is

The comments section of a Facebook post typically isn’t a place for intelligent debate between great minds… but sometimes, it is. 

Driving the news: Meta AI head Yann LeCun and Université de Montréal prof Yoshua Bengio, two of the three ‘Godfathers of AI’, got in an online debate earlier this month after LeCun made a post asking experts who don’t believe in AI extinction threats to speak up.    

California deals a blow to autonomous cars

Like an angsty teen who took the car out without permission, Cruise has lost its driving privileges for the time being. 

Driving the news: Per The Washington Post, the autonomous car company has to immediately remove all its driverless vehicles from the roads after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) determined its the robotaxis are a risk to public safety. 

Robots are hitting the runways

After being ranked the second-worst airport in North America, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is hoping that it can at least be one of the safest. 

Driving the news: Canada’s busiest airport is rolling out a new proof-of-concept for an autonomous safety robot, designed to roam runways and spot security risks — from holes in perimeter fences to larger, more serious safety threats that could affect planes. 

Would you binge Love is Blind… Presented By Doritos

After trying “run ads during TV shows,” Netflix is taking another page out of the traditional media playbook to shore up its revenue..

What happened: Sorry, streaming subscribers: Netflix is determined to push more brands into your living room by expanding its ads business into title sponsorships, which let brands sponsor shows, like Frito-Lay… when it presents an upcoming season of Love is Blind.

Robots could be making your next desk lunch

Could a robot making salads in a suburb of Chicago be the first step in a fast food singularity that replaces all human workers? Probably not, but it does mean your next salad might be made by a robot.

Driving the news: The salad start-up Sweetgreen is all in on automation after opening its “Infinite Kitchen” concept earlier this year, a futuristic fast-casual lunch spot where robots and self-serve kiosks handle everything from assembling salads to taking orders. 

Smart glasses just got smarter

It’s a glorious day for tech dads everywhere: Meta and Ray-Ban smart glasses are officially for sale in Canada.  

Driving the news: Meta has become the latest billion-dollar company to officially enter the smart glasses market with the second iteration of its design with Ray-Bans, now including a built-in Meta AI assistant, hands-free live streaming features, and a personal audio system. 

Microsoft wins its Activision Blizzard battle

Microsoft had to go through a blizzard of regulation, but it is now the proud owner of a world leader in video games. 

What happened: After nearly two years and multiple regulatory challenges, Microsoft closed its US$75 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard — maker of hit games like Call of Duty and Candy Crush — after British regulators gave the deal a final go-ahead. 

Amazon wants you to become a regular

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon is rolling out tools designed to get you to spend more. 

Driving the news: Amazon is testing a new ‘Buy Again’ feature aiming to persuade customers to make repeat purchases based on their order history, part of the company’s latest effort to drive up sales amid a post-pandemic slump, per the Wall Street Journal.