Canadian Press

Source: Canadian Press


Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing a backlash from governments around the world after a recent surge in sexualized images of women and children generated without consent by the artificial intelligence-powered tool. On Tuesday, Britain’s top technology official demanded that Musk’s social media platform X take urgent action while a Polish […]

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At CES, auto and tech companies transform cars into proactive companions

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a vision of the near future shared at CES, a girl slides into the back seat of her parents’ car and the cabin instantly comes alive. The vehicle recognizes her, knows it’s her birthday and cues up her favorite song without a word spoken. “Think of the car as having […]

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Ex-BlackBerry employees claim firm has ‘toxic’ and ‘boys’ club’ culture: court docs

New court documents filed in a lawsuit against BlackBerry Ltd. allege at least three women were fired after reporting the tech firm had a “boys’ club” culture.  The documents were filed in support of former BlackBerry chief marketing officer Neelam Sandhu, who launched a lawsuit against the Waterloo, Ont.-based cybersecurity firm and CEO John Giamatteo […]

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After judge’s ruling, HHS authorized to resume sharing some Medicaid data with deportation officers

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s health department starting Monday can resume sharing the personal data of certain Medicaid enrollees with deportation officials, according to a federal judge’s ruling, in a blow to states that had sued the administration over privacy concerns. But the judge’s decision, issued last Monday, strictly limits the scope of data […]

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Amid merger, Grand Erie Public Health managed one of Ontario’s biggest measles outbreaks. Here’s how.

Grand Erie Public Health was born on the first day of 2025, the result of months of merger talks between the health units that had overseen Haldimand-Norfolk and Brantford-Brant. A week later, as staff were still setting up their new email accounts, the measles virus appeared in the largely rural community southwest of Hamilton. That  […]

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Big Tech’s fast-expanding plans for data centers are running into stiff community opposition

SPRING CITY, Pa. (AP) — Tech companies and developers looking to plunge billions of dollars into ever-bigger data centers to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing are increasingly losing fights in communities where people don’t want to live next to them, or even near them. Communities across the United States are reading about — and […]

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Province steps in as Gibbons council approves interim budget and borrowing plan amid financial crisis

The Town of Gibbons approved an interim 2026 operating and capital budget during a special meeting on Dec. 18, as the municipality continues to navigate financial pressures under the oversight of a provincially appointed Official Administrator. The interim budget carries forward 2025 spending levels and is intended as short‑term authority while administration completes a thorough […]

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Increasing AI use in Canadian courtrooms carries risk of errors, penalties: lawyers

In the past, if a client who usually preferred to communicate via short emails suddenly sent a lengthy message akin to a legal memo, Ron Shulman would suspect they’d received help from a family member or partner. Now, the Toronto family lawyer asks clients if they’ve used artificial intelligence. And most of the time, he […]

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Fact File: Claim Rogers collects biometric data from store cameras unfounded

The claim Rogers retail stores used facial recognition on customers through its surveillance cameras appeared on social media in December. Rogers says it does not use the technology at its storefronts and its door screening policy at some locations is meant to ensure staff and customer safety. Stores must follow privacy laws that dictate the […]

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Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules. Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organizations. But […]

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US removal of panels honoring Black soldiers at WWII cemetery in the Netherlands draws backlash

MARGRATEN, Netherlands (AP) — Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections. Sometime in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside of […]

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Internal government records flag gaps in federal dam oversight

Hydroelectric dams on public lands are at growing risk of failure because the department responsible for them has no engineers, inadequate funding and no safety rules, an internal document warns. The document, obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information and Privacy request, calls the state of affairs “unsustainable” at the Ministry for […]

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