Microsoft commits to sweeping AI privacy rules for students. Will other tech giants follow?

Millions of students every day turn to AI chatbots for help with schoolwork, emotional support and personal advice — often unaware of where their conversations and other personal information end up.

How that data is used — and schools' role in protecting it — is a growing concern for educators, parents and kids as artificial intelligence becomes a ubiquitous part of the school day, embedded in many of the classroom tools students are required to use.

As the school year started, the country's two largest school districts, New York City and Los Angeles, announced they were putting the brakes on student use of AI for one year, as they study how to best incorporate the technology into education.

In response to a growing AI and screentime backlash, Microsoft announced last week it had agreed to adopt guardrails and privacy standards for its AI in schools, as negotiated with the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers union.

Online etiquette, dangers part of new Manitoba health curriculum

Students will learn about everything from emoji etiquette to internet scam artists, as well as the difference between sexting and sextortion, as part of a provincewide overhaul of health class.

Manitoba’s new phys-ed and health curriculum pilot puts an emphasis on a child’s online habits and experiences.

“It is really good to see online privacy being recognized as a health and wellness skill,” said Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, a national charity that designs resources for teachers to build digital literacy.

“It has an effect on so much of our lives. At the bare minimum, the content that we see online is determined by data that companies have on us… the algorithmic shadow we cast.”

Politicians, CEOs pitch Canada’s fundamentals in bid to attract investment

TORONTO - Business leaders and politicians say an investment supercycle is taking hold in Canada as investors from around the world flock to Toronto this week for a summit pitching the country as an attractive investment for foreign money.

Speaking at Global Dialogues Toronto, hosted by the Milken Institute think tank, TD chief executive Raymond Chun said he is seeing a more streamlined approval process for strategic projects and is encouraged by the progress thus far.

"The investment supercycle is beginning to take shape," he said.

Chun's comments come as TD Bank announced it's committing $150 billion over five years to accelerate investment in the country. The other major banks have made similar announcements in recent days outlining their own lending plans for Canadian projects.

Menstruation, consent move up in sex-ed lesson plan

Manitoba’s newest curriculum introduces the menstrual cycle earlier and repeatedly calls for explicit lessons on how students can give, seek, and decline to provide their consent.

The education department has released its sweeping proposal to overhaul how exercise, nutrition and sexuality are taught between kindergarten and Grade 12.

Grade 5 has long served as a key turning point for “the talk,” said J Fiedler, a sexual and reproductive health educator who provided input on the new curriculum.

“There’s no ‘the talk’ anymore. Now, there’s continuations of multiple ‘talks,’ which can hopefully reduce stress for students and stigma that people experience talking about sexuality.”

Global customers crave texture, challenging companies to make crispier, gooier, chewier foods

Texture is having a crunchy, gooey moment in the food and beverage industry.

For many people, the way a menu item or packaged snack feels in the mouth has become as big a draw as flavor, although consumers don't always recognize the part texture plays in their cravings for crispier takeout, frothier coffees and juicier candies, according to industry experts.

The importance of “mouthfeel,” a food science term for oral sensation, has inspired new products like Starbucks’ Aerocano, an air-whipped iced espresso; PowerCrunch, a waferlike protein bar; and Trolli Gummi Pops, which are frozen but still soft and chewy.

“Texture drives consumer behavior. It plays a key emotional role in the eating experience, shaping satisfaction, perception and repeat interest,” Ingredion, an Illinois-based ingredient provider, said in a recent report.

Quebec prayer restrictions reshape rules at transit agency, universities

MONTREAL - Quebec’s new restrictions on prayer are changing the rules at public workplaces and university campuses, with employees and students facing new limits on where they can pray.

New rules under Quebec’s secularism law took effect Sept. 1, including a ban on prayer rooms in public institutions such as universities, colleges and transit agencies.

The law, adopted by the Quebec legislature in April, also prohibits collective religious practices on public roads and in public parks unless a municipality grants an exception on a case-by-case basis.

The measures have drawn opposition from religious and civil-liberties groups, which have raised concerns about freedom of religion and assembly.

Mayoral candidate denounced for online comments

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate is facing criticism after he posted derogatory comments about immigrants and used the word “gay” as an insult online.

Port of Churchill expansion could chase belugas away, U of M researcher says

As plans to expand the Port of Churchill into a four-season trade corridor gathers momentum, a University of Manitoba researcher has published a report on what ship traffic could mean for the beluga whales that gather in the Churchill River estuary each summer.

Veronica Coppolaro said more vessels in the waterways bring a risk that belugas will stop using the estuary for migration, which would impact the ecological landscape, tourism and communities that rely on the animals for food and cultural purposes.

“There are studies showing that (noises) change the way they swim, they change the way (the whales) are vocalizing, they change their main activity, and so this (expansion) can have consequences at different levels,” she said.

The Churchill river estuary is a marine habitat where the Churchill River empties into Hudson Bay. During the summer months belugas gather in the area to feed and give birth.

Citizen reports help highlight connectivity issues across southwest Manitoba

A southwestern Manitoba man has created a map to document cell service blackout spots in an effort to push for better access in rural areas.

Mark Custance compiled more than 300 citizen reports over the last few months to document where service in southwest Manitoba is strong, spotty or doesn’t exist at all.

“I’ve heard people complain and say, ‘cell service sucks’ or ‘this is not working.’ But what does the data actually say?” Custance said from his office in Melita, where he has installed a cell-service booster to maintain connectivity with the rest of the world.

Analyzing where service is good and poor, he cross-references it with the location of cellphone towers across the region.