As part of its new budget, the Canadian federal government has announced a new $5,000 incentive for electric cars that cost less than $45,000, however, it excludes Tesla vehicles. Some Canadian provinces already have EV incentive programs but unlike the US, there has never been a federal program to reduce the cost of electric vehicles. With the launch of their latest budget, the Canadian government has now announced a new $5,000 incentive program that is not yet completed. Read full story here: Canada Announces New $5,000 Incentive For Electric Cars,…
Read MoreScientists Can Turn Regular Seawater Into Hydrogen Fuel | Engadget
A team of scientists at Stanford have figured out a way to make hydrogen fuel out of saltwater. The discovery could open up the world’s oceans as a potential source of energy. Researchers view electrolysis, or the act of splitting water into hydrogen and gas, as a promising new source of renewable energy. But it comes with many roadblocks; a major one being that only purified water can be used in electrolysis. Seawater tends to corrode water-splitting systems. Read full story here: Scientists Can Turn Regular Seawater Into Hydrogen Fuel…
Read MoreCanadians Want Majority Of New Cars To Be Electric, Expect It In Future, Survey Says | Electrek
A new poll of driving-age Canadians shows strong support for electric cars, and strong expectations that EVs will become the norm in the future. The poll, conducted by Clean Energy Canada, shows that 64 percent of Canadians would prefer electric vehicles to be the majority of vehicles sold in the future. Furthermore, 72 percent of Canadians believe EVs will become the majority of cars sold around the world. Read full story here: Canadians Want Majority Of New Cars To Be Electric, Expect It In Future, Survey Says | Electrek
Read MoreWhy Companies Want To Mine The Secrets In Your Voice | The Verge
VoicesenseVoicesense makes an intriguing promise to its clients: give us someone’s voice, and we’ll tell you what they will do. The Israeli company uses real-time voice analysis during calls to evaluate whether someone is likely to default on a bank loan, buy a more expensive product, or be the best candidate for a job. It’s one of a crop of companies looking for the personal insights contained in our speech. In recent years, researchers and startups have taken note of the rich trove of information that can be mined from…
Read MoreAnother Costly Federal IT Glitch Gets Resolved – Ten Years Later | CBC News
A computer glitch dating back to 2009 has been fixed at last, allowing the federal government to resume chasing down thousands of Canadians who owe the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) about $66 million due to erroneous overpayments. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) reinstated the collection of these old debts last November, going after 15,000 individuals or their estates after almost a decade of inaction. Read full story here: Another Costly Federal IT Glitch Gets Resolved – Ten Years Later | CBC News
Read MoreFacebook Won’t Let You Opt-Out Of Its Phone Number ‘Look Up’ Setting | TechCrunch
Users are complaining that the phone number Facebook hassled them to use to secure their account with two-factor authentication has also been associated with their user profile — which anyone can use to “look up” your profile. Worse, Facebook doesn’t give you an option to opt-out. The recent hubbub began today after a tweet by Jeremy Burge blew up, criticizing Facebook’s collection and use of phone numbers, which he likened to “a unique ID that is used to link your identity across every platform on the internet.” Read full story…
Read MoreThe Writing Of This AI Is So human That Its Creators Are Scared To Release It | CBC News
A new text generator driven by artificial intelligence is apparently so good that its creators have decided not to make it publicly available. The tool was created by OpenAI, a non-profit research firm whose backers include Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman and which was founded with the mission of “discovering and enacting the path to safe artificial general intelligence.” But now OpenAI is concerned that something these well-intentioned researchers built could easily be misused, fearing that it would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Read full story here: The Writing Of This AI Is So human That Its Creators…
Read MorePetition Calls For U.S. To Sell Montana To Canada For $1 trillion To Reduce National Debt | CTV News
It already borders three Canadian provinces and has a diverse terrain of Rocky Mountains and Great Plains that mirror those in Alberta and Saskatchewan. After the U.S. national debt soared to more than $22 trillion earlier this month, a man named Ian Hammond launched a petition on Change.org last week to sell Montana to Canada for $1 trillion to reduce the national debt. Red full story here: Petition Calls For U.S. To Sell Montana To Canada For $1 trillion To Reduce National Debt | CTV News
Read MoreMachines vs. Cashiers: Why Shoppers Are So Divided Over Self-Checkout | CBC News
More than a million people clicked on a CBC News story last week about some retail stores removing their self-checkout machines. Thousands of readers also left comments, many staunchly taking a stand either for or against self-checkout. The machines are now ubiquitous in many large retail stores, yet self-checkout remains a divisive issue among Canadians. “A lot of people do see self-checkout as a threat to workers,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Halifax-based Dalhousie University specializing in food distribution and policy. Read full story here: Machines vs. Cashiers: Why Shoppers Are So Divided…
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