New from me: The federal government will spend $2B to build sovereign AI compute capacity, funding access for startups and researchers in the meantime. Canada is also setting up its own AI safety institute. Liberals made #Budget2024 announcement Sunday.
thelogic.co/news/federal-b…

New from me & Catherine McIntyre: Apple's stealthy takeover of DarwinAI buys it a team of computer vision experts and their 'thoroughly mind-blowing' tech for training AI models. We traced the Waterloo startup's innovations and evolution via sources and paperwork:
thelogic.co/news/the-big-r…

Anything can mean anything, podcast ad edition: The Herle Burly’s invocation of noted Canadian Cory Cory Doctorow @[email protected]’s notion of enshitification to make the case *for* one of Canada’s Big Three telecoms must be some kind of marker of the popularization of anti-monopoly concepts.

New from me: The federal government is gutting a program under which departments fund innovation and buy from startups, as part of cost-cutting efforts. Innovative Solutions Canada has never come close to meeting its $113.8 million spending requirement.
thelogic.co/news/ottawa-gu…

Housing Minister Sean Fraser, announcing $123M for 5,600 homes this morning, talks up modular construction to build 'affordable housing units and missing-middle units.'

Dan Seljak finally got to him.

As the federal government consults on changes to the
blockbuster SR&ED tax incentive, Catherine McIntyre reports that large firms are still reaping much of the benefit of Ottawa's $4B-or-so-a-year innovation-promotion program.
thelogic.co/news/the-big-r…

My interview with the Bank of Canada governor. Highlights: new comments on productivity and raising the inflation target.

‘A source of concern’: Tiff Macklem on Canada’s nagging productivity problem, inflation and the housing crisis - The Logic thelogic.co/news/the-inter…

I see Canadian journalism has generated a new debate me bro

AUKUS is the second, secret group chat you start to keep out the annoying friend who's ruining the original one.

It's us, we're the annoying friend, Canada.

theguardian.com/world/2024/feb…

Vena Medical is Waterloo startup that made a camera so small it can go into blood vessels in the brain. An Ottawa stroke specialist compares it to walking on the moon.
Here's the story of an undergrad project that got way out of hand in the best way.

thelogic.co/news/the-big-r…

New from me: As countries and companies jostle for AI leadership, the U.K. and Canada are touting closer tech ties, including a new compute cooperation deal.

TechSec Michelle Donelan and InnMin François-Philippe Champagne on AI partnerships &c.

thelogic.co/news/canada-an…

New from me: Ottawa has tied its green industrial policy—EV battery incentives, CCUS tax credits &c.—to Biden's U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and other measures. What if Trump nopes all that? More FDI will flow here, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says.
thelogic.co/briefing/trump…

New from the cabinet retreat: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected the Business Council of Canada's fiscal anchor warning as a call for 'austerity and cuts,' arguing the country can't get to economic growth and support people that way.

thelogic.co/briefing/trude…

New from me: The defence department is meant so spend $65M a year to back R&D and buy innovative products from Canadian startups. It's never come close. Now, it's considering trying to scale back its funding commitment to Innovative Solutions Canada.
thelogic.co/news/unable-to…

I see we've moved from stealing your jobs to stealing your welfare in the fever-dream of immigrant-blame narratives. (None of this works the way Tristin says it does, of course).

x.com/TristinHopper/…

It started with balloons for spying, and it’s finishing with balloons of celebration, for one of Christopher Nardi, Shannon Proudfoot or me.

Catherine Cullen quizzes us on the year’s political moments and misadventures (with h/t to evil casting genius Emma Godmere)
cbc.ca/listen/live-ra…

New from me: As powerful nations and firms compete for AI leadership, Canada needs more than past research glories and dreams of prosperity to make the most of this AI moment. From Bletchley Park and beyond, a look at where we are and what comes next.
thelogic.co/news/special-r…

DND is putting the finishing touches on an AI strategy for the Canadian Forces (while an overall defence policy update languishes). The trouble is, we take years and years to set the requirements for major procurements, and AI moves a LOT faster. thelogic.co/news/exclusive…

New from me: The Liberal government will try to add binding rules for generative and other general-purpose AI to Bill C-27's proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. Other amendments would require model cards, distinguish between developers and users
thelogic.co/news/champagne…

Assassination is good when it's people we don't like: 'Canada's most interesting magazine in print,' 'authoritative & contrarian'

x.com/dorchesterrev/…