Tech

Tech


Groups call for more careful consideration of artificial intelligence measures

OTTAWA — Dozens of civil society organizations, experts and academics are calling on the Liberal government to remove proposed measures on artificial intelligence from a federal privacy bill, saying they must be considered separately. The Liberals introduced privacy legislation last year to give Canadians more control over how their personal data is used by commercial […]

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Toronto hospital network appoints chief AI scientist in bid to improve health care

Canada’s largest network of research hospitals has appointed a chief artificial intelligence scientist to harness promising technology that has the potential to speed up diagnoses, improve and personalize patient care and shorten recovery times. Bo Wang, whose expertise at the Toronto-based University Health Network includes machine learning and computational biology, is stepping into the role […]

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Google brings its AI chatbot Bard into its inner circle, opening door to Gmail, Maps, YouTube

Google is introducing Bard, its artificially intelligent chatbot, to other members of its digital family — including Gmail, Maps and YouTube — as it seeks ward off competitive threats posed by similar technology run by Open AI and Microsoft. Bard’s expanded capabilities announced Tuesday will be provided through an English-only extension that will enable users […]

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California law restricting companies’ use of information from kids online is halted by federal judge

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has halted implementation of a California law intended to restrict companies’ use of information gathered from young internet users in order to protect the privacy of minors. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman on Monday granted a preliminary injunction, saying the legislation interferes with firms’ use of […]

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Watchdog finds mismanagement, ‘disturbing’ lack of disclosure at Defence Department

OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence broke the federal whistleblower law by not being transparent about the results of investigations into wrongdoing, the federal integrity watchdog said in a report released Tuesday. Joe Friday, the public sector integrity commissioner, shared what he called “disturbing” findings that both the Defence Department and the Canadian Armed […]

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TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules

LONDON (AP) — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are […]

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Imagine making shadowy data brokers erase your personal info. Californians may soon live the dream

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — You may not know it, but thousands of often shadowy companies routinely traffic in personal data you probably never agreed to share — everything from your real-time location information to private financial details. Even if you could identify these data brokers, there isn’t much you can do about their activities, including […]

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Tech industry leaders endorse regulating artificial intelligence at rare summit in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s biggest technology executives on Wednesday loosely endorsed the idea of government regulations for artificial intelligence at an unusual closed-door meeting in the U.S. Senate. But there is little consensus on what regulation would look like, and the political path for legislation is difficult. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who organized […]

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Tech titans have ‘a very civilized discussion’ with senators on artificial intelligence, Musk says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators heard from prominent technology executives and others in private Wednesday on how to accomplish the potentially impossible task of passing bipartisan legislation within the next year that encourages the rapid development of artificial intelligence and mitigates its biggest risks. The closed-door forum on Capitol Hill convened by Senate Majority Leader Chuck […]

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Tech titans will give senators advice on artificial intelligence in a closed door forum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been talking for months about accomplishing a potentially impossible task: passing bipartisan legislation within the next year that encourages the rapid development of artificial intelligence and mitigates its biggest risks. On Wednesday, he’s convening a meeting of some of the country’s most prominent technology executives, among […]

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TikTok partnerships plentiful in Canada amid bans, foreign interference accusations

TORONTO — In the halls of Parliament, TikTok is banned from civil servants’ phones as the government grapples with allegations of foreign interference. But on Canada’s red carpets and in sports arenas, the popular social media platform is still welcome. The video-sharing app has served as the official voting platform for the Juno Awards’ fan […]

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NB Power program offers municipalities streetlight cameras

NB Power is offering to install surveillance cameras on streetlights for municipal customers as part of a pilot project across the province, it confirmed. The provincial power utility is in discussions with municipalities across the province regarding its Smart Cities pilot program, according to spokesperson Dominique Couture. The exact locations of the cameras are still […]

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