By Aaron Walker, Windspeaker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As First Nations leaders challenge one of Canada’s largest proposed artificial intelligence data centres over its potential impact on fresh water, many say Ottawa’s newly introduced clean water legislation leaves a fundamental question unanswered: Who ultimately decides what happens to waters in First Nations territory?
Continue reading AI Data Centres: Can Bill C-37 deliver real authority to First Nations over water?
By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A national protest movement against AI data centres is emerging in Canada, as residents in a dozen cities push back against the speed and scale of projects they say could strain supplies of water and power and the quality of life in their communities.
In Vancouver, demonstrators marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to City Hall against two proposed TELUS-linked AI data centres, part of a BC cluster that could consume 150 megawatts of BC Hydro power by 2032. The protesters “feel it’s been imposed on them and that they had no say and that their interests are not being taken to heart,” said Guerric Haché, a 36-year-old organizer with NO AI Vancouver.
Continue reading In cities across Canada, hundreds gather to oppose unchecked AI data centre proliferation
By Isaac Phan Nay, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s long-awaited and much-delayed artificial intelligence strategy on Thursday, outlining how his government plans to adopt and control the powerful technology.
The strategy signals the government’s support for large-scale AI adoption. The plan includes a $500-million fund to invest in Canadian AI companies and a commitment to support construction of data centres that will bring at least a combined 850 megawatts of compute capacity by 2030.
Continue reading What Will Canada’s AI Strategy Mean for Jobs and Safety?
By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TELUS is pushing ahead with plans for a major AI data-centre cluster in British Columbia after being selected under Ottawa’s large-scale AI data-centre initiative. But the project is raising questions about who will ultimately control that infrastructure and whether BC’s clean power grid can absorb the electricity demand.
The project announced Monday with federal backing, would start with 85 megawatts of power from BC Hydro and scale to 150 megawatts, and over 60,000 NVIDIA GPUs, by 2032.
It includes three sites: an AI facility in Kamloops launching later this year, a Mount Pleasant location opening in 2026 and expanding through 2028 and a 10-storey data centre near BC Place set for 2029.
Continue reading BC’s new data centre cluster sparks new discussion of ‘sovereign’ AI push
We’ve probably all encountered AI by now. Some large language model (LLM) AI programs are among the fastest and most comprehensive information tools on the Internet, and arguably, the most “stupid.” Have you ever been harassed by an AI-powered telephone service whose programmer neglected to include the concept of wrong numbers? Or been fed incorrect political information by an AI program that did not know which party or Prime Minister was in power? However if you want to check something like medieval canon law, to ensure the attitude of a character in the novel you’re writing accurately portrays the times: it can take seconds with ChatGPT. Everything has to be fact-checked and sources verified, but tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude remain remarkable and they’ll improve as the glitches are addressed.
My guest this morning is Dr Vered Shwartz, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, a CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, and the author of the book “Lost in Automatic Translation.”
Continue reading Large Language Model AI Programs: Hallucinations, Other Challenges and an Incredible Potential
