OpenAI partners with Walmart to let users buy products in ChatGPT, furthering chatbot shopping push

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI is partnering with Walmart to let shoppers make purchases directly within ChatGPT, furthering the artificial intelligence company's push to turn its chatbot into a virtual merchant as it seeks to boost revenue.

In an Tuesday announcement, Walmart said the new offering will give customers the option to “simply chat and buy." That means the retailer’s products would be available through instant checkout in ChatGPT — allowing users to buy anything from meal ingredients or household items, to other goods they might be discussing with the chatbot.

“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a prepared statement. “That is about to change.”

Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, added that the partnership would "make everyday purchases a little simpler.”

Black-led non-profit developer gets federal funds for affordable housing units in north part of city

A Black-led real estate developer has become the first in Canada to secure federal funding, paving the way for 30 affordable housing units within a new 72-unit development in north Winnipeg.

Non-profit Inuka Community Inc. received $23.3 million through the Affordable Housing Fund, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The CMHC set aside $50 million specifically for Black-led organizations to help create more than 500 units.

The new rental complex at 1510 Main St., will include 30 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units. Thirty of those units, in a mix of sizes, will be designated affordable and aimed at newcomers to the city, with available supports such as debt management, credit building and driver training.

“Lots of sleepless nights to get here,” said Naomi Gichungu, Inuka’s chief executive officer.

TikTok’s algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok's popular video platform under the terms of a deal laid out this week by President Donald Trump's administration.

All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will include Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and possibly two billionaires — media mogul Rupert Murdoch and personal computer pioneer Michael Dell. The U.S. administration would not have a stake in the joint venture nor be part of its board, according to a senior White House official.

President Trump is expected to issue an executive order later this week that declares that the terms of the deal meet the security concerns laid out by the law, the senior White House official said. China still needs to sign off on the framework proposal, and any final deal would still require regulatory approval.

The proposal is aimed at resolving a long-running effort to wrest TikTok's U.S. operations from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, because of national security concerns. TikTok has become a high-profile topic during conversations between Trump and China President Xi Jinping as they continue to spar in a trade war that's roiled the global economy for much of the year.

A few Transit tweaks help, but aren’t a solution

Winnipeg Transit has made some adjustments to its overhauled route system, the first since the original summer rollout that has left many riders frustrated.

City non-profit inks deal with subsidiary of leader in phosphate-based fertilizers

A Winnipeg non-profit committed to advancing digital agriculture has inked a deal with the North American subsidiary of a global leader in phosphate-based fertilizers.

Leaders from Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative and OCP North America signed a collaboration agreement last week. They said the collaboration will focus on advancing agricultural innovation through field-based research that will take place through EMILI’s Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert.

Innovation Farms spans more than 14,000 acres across two Manitoba farms to provide demonstrations, testing and validation of agriculture technology and production practices in commercial farm settings.

The partnership will allow EMILI to give Manitoba farmers a first-hand look at new innovations, said Jacqueline Keena, managing director.

Premier, chiefs question lack of Manitoba First Nation voice on major project council

Premier Wab Kinew and chiefs across the province have raised concerns that no Manitoba First Nation representative was appointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Indigenous advisory council for major projects.

“I think it is a missed opportunity,” Kinew said after the list of advisers was announced Thursday.

“The First Nations have to be given that opportunity to engage,” the premier said.

On Thursday, Carney unveiled the first five major projects of national importance that his government plans to fast-track through the approvals process, as well as the Indigenous council he appointed to offer advice.

AI could help manufacturers offset tariff costs, depending on implementation: experts

Manufacturing experts say there are specific ways integrating AI into the sector can help reduce costs and improve margins in the face of trade tensions, but note it won’t be a silver bullet.

“When the U.S. charges a 25 per cent tariff, if you can drop the supply price by, let’s say 20 per cent … then we can neutralize the additional cost due to the tariff,” said Chi-Guhn Lee, a University of Toronto professor and director of the AI in Manufacturing centre.

Currently, he said AI adoption in Canadian manufacturing is “widespread” and interest is high across the board but implementation is at very different stages for different companies. Some firms made investments years ago and are now “quite advanced,” he said.

There are also stark differences between the U.S. and Canadian industries, said Jayson Myers, CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada. He said that on average, Canadian firms have a “huge advantage” over their U.S. counterparts because "we don’t rely on volume of product out the door.”

Impact of cyberattack on Nova Scotia Power could be bigger than first thought

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia’s largest electric utility says the impact of a sophisticated cyberattack in March could be much broader than first thought.

Nova Scotia Power said in May that about half of its customers — 277,000 ratepayers — may have had personal information stolen by hackers. But the privately owned utility is now saying all of its customers may be affected in some way.

The new information comes from a Nova Scotia Power report submitted last week to the independent Nova Scotia Energy Board, which is investigating the cybersecurity breach.

“This investigation is ongoing and has been complex given the severe nature of the cyberattack," the report says. "It remains possible that all of the company’s customers may have been impacted by the cyberattack."

Bell launches Bell Cyber, building on AI and tech services umbrella

TORONTO - Bell Canada is launching Bell Cyber, a new brand under its growing tech services umbrella which will offer AI-powered cybersecurity solutions.

The company made the announcement Tuesday at its inaugural Bell Cybersecurity Summit in Toronto, which heard from Bell Cyber's leadership, government and law enforcement officials, as well as other industry stakeholders.

It said Bell Cyber unifies all of the company's cybersecurity capabilities under a single brand. It also complements Bell's other recent tech announcements, such as the launch of Bell AI Fabric and tech services brand Ateko.

Bell Cyber is the branding successor to Stratejm, a Mississauga, Ont.-based security services provider acquired by Bell in July 2024. The company has specialized in providing end-to-end security solutions with the use of artificial intelligence, including real-time threat detection and response.

Great potential in Churchill port project — but…

Prime Minister Mark Carney, seeking to bolster Canadian economic power at a time when its closest ally and trading partner is becoming increasingly hostile, wants to get started on some nation-building projects. Among them, he has indicated, is one to make some serious upgrades to Churchill’s port, funding for which is expected to be announced soon.

Building trust key as companies pivot to chatbots for customer service: experts

TORONTO - Mohammed Halabi has spent countless hours negotiating with customer service agents over the past 20 years.

Halabi is the director of MyBillsAreHigh.com, a company that finds savings on telecom and internet costs for both businesses and individuals. That means seeking out the best deals to fit clients' circumstances, plus taking the lead when problems arise requiring the attention of their provider.

These days, there's just one problem. He can't seem to get anyone on the phone.

"I've never seen customer service this bad," said Halabi.

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion to settle lawsuit over pirated books used to train AI chatbots

NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot.

The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a turning point in legal battles between AI companies and the writers, visual artists and other creative professionals who accuse them of copyright infringement.

The company has agreed to pay authors or publishers about $3,000 for each of an estimated 500,000 books covered by the settlement.

“As best as we can tell, it’s the largest copyright recovery ever,” said Justin Nelson, a lawyer for the authors. “It is the first of its kind in the AI era.”

Carney delays electric vehicle sales mandate by one year, launches review

OTTAWA - The federal electric vehicle sales mandate will not be implemented in 2026 as planned, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday, pushing back by at least a year a policy that would have set minimum sales targets for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Introduced by the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the mandate would have required 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada next year to be electric.

The standard as written is to rise steadily each year until 2035, by which point all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada were to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids.

But at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., Carney said he is suspending the mandate for 2026 and launching a 60-day review of the program to help find "future flexibilities and ways to reduce costs."

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters spiked 34% Thursday after the teen clothing retailer said the frenzy surrounding its Sydney Sweeney ad campaign drew new customers during its most recent quarter.

American Eagle rolled out its new new ad campaign starring 27-year-old actor over the summer. The fall denim campaign sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to “woke” American politics and culture.

Negative reactions centered on ads that used the word “genes” instead of “jeans” featuring the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor known for the HBO series “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.”

But American Eagle did get noticed, executives said late Wednesday in a call after the Pittsburgh retailer posted second quarter earnings.

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Ballers manager Aaron Miles will leave it to artificial intelligence to decide when to pinch hit or replace his pitcher.

The playoff-bound Ballers of the independent Pioneer League are turning to AI to manage most aspects of Saturday's home game against the Great Falls Voyagers at Raimondi Park. So it might feel almost like a day off for the skipper, whose lineup and in-game decisions will even be made for him — from a tablet he will have in the dugout providing instructions.

The starting pitcher is already set.

“Luckily it’s only game. Maybe we've done so well that the AI will just keep doing what we're doing,” Miles joked Wednesday. “Being a 70-win team we've got a very good bench. It's hard to write a lineup without leaving somebody out that's really good. This game I'll be like, ‘Hey, it’s not on me for not writing you in there, it's on the computer.' It won’t be my fault if somebody’s not in the lineup, I guess I’ll enjoy that.”

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

NEW YORK (AP) — C-SPAN said Wednesday that it had reached a deal to have its three channels air on YouTube TV and Hulu's live television feed, ending a dispute that had led to a revenue squeeze for the public affairs network in the cord-cutting era.

The network said the streaming services would pay the same fee as cable and satellite companies, roughly 87 cents a year per subscriber, and that C-SPAN would continue its no-advertising policy on television.

Congress involved itself in the issue, passing a resolution this spring calling on the services' parent companies — Alphabet for YouTube and Disney for Hulu — to add C-SPAN to their programming mix. Because congressional sessions and hearings represent a big portion of C-SPAN's programming, the politicians faced diminished airtime without a deal.

At its peak a decade ago, C-SPAN was seen in some 100 million homes with television. The number of homes paying for TV has since dropped to some 70 million, with roughly 20 million of those consumers now getting television through services like YouTube and Hulu, and they weren't showing C-SPAN.

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

OTTAWA - Wrongful death lawsuits citing the activities of artificial intelligence chatbots are underway in the United States, as reports emerge of mental health issues and delusions induced by AI systems.

These incidents are drawing attention to the changing nature of the online threat landscape — just weeks after the Liberal government said it would review its online harms bill before reintroducing it in Parliament.

"Since the legislation was introduced, I think it's become all the more clear that tremendous harm can be facilitated by AI, and we're seeing that in particular in the space of chatbots and some of the tragedies," said Emily Laidlaw, Canada research chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary.

The Online Harms Act, which died on the order paper when the election was called, would have required social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and would have imposed on them a duty to protect children.

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV’s biggest prizes

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be honored with one of the television's top prizes even as it winds down its nearly 60-year work after the U.S. government withdrew funding.

The organization, which has helped pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and TV stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” will be awarded the Television Academy's Governors Award, which honors those who have "made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.”

It will be handed to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 7.

“For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served,” Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said in a statement Tuesday.

Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics

It’s getting harder to see where reviews and other forms of cultural criticism fit in the current media ecosystem. Arts writing positions are being axed at outlets all over North America — but a landscape of all influencers and no critics means all promotion and no journalism.

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Online age checks are on the rise in the U.S. and elsewhere, asking people for IDs or face scans to prove they are over 18 or 21 or even 13. To proponents, they're a tool to keep children away from adult websites and other material that might be harmful to them.

But opponents see a worrisome trend toward a less secure, less private and less free internet, where people can be denied access not just to pornography but news, health information and the ability to speak openly and anonymously.

“I think that many of these laws come from a place of good intentions,” said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior technology policy fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “Certainly we all want to protect young people from harmful content before they’re ready to see it.”

More than 20 states have passed some kind of age verification law, though many face legal challenges. While no such law exists on the federal level in the United States, the Supreme Court recently allowed a Mississippi age check law for social media to stand. In June, the court upheld a Texas law aimed at preventing minors from watching pornography online, ruling that adults don't have a First Amendment right to access obscene speech without first proving their age.

The new ‘too normal’ — AI’s band plays on

AI does not produce new ideas; it rummages about on the internet and finds whatever is out there, neatly repackaging it for the unwitting (or dimwitted) consumer by an algorithm designed in secret for what we hope are good reasons.