AI accent-masking in call centres sparks scrutiny in Canada
Artificial intelligence tools that alter the accents of call centre workers in real time are drawing scrutiny in Canada as labour groups warn the technology could mislead customers and accelerate the outsourcing of Canadian jobs. Union representatives say at least one major Canadian telecommunications company has already used AI-powered speech technology designed to “soften accents” […]
Shopify cuts operations staff amid AI-driven restructuring
Shopify Inc. has laid off at least 30 employees as part of a broader reorganization of its operations, customer support and revenue teams. The cuts come as the Canadian e-commerce company continues reducing headcount while pushing employees to adopt AI tools more aggressively and refocusing its business around larger enterprise customers. The layoffs took place […]
Google DeepMind staff in London push to unionize over military AI concerns
Employees at Google DeepMind in London are attempting to unionize amid growing internal opposition to the company’s military and defence-related AI partnerships. Workers involved in the effort say the move is aimed in part at blocking DeepMind technology from being used by the U.S. and Israeli militaries and forcing greater transparency around how Google deploys […]
Canadian-founded Featherless AI raises $20M to scale open-source AI infrastructure
Featherless AI has raised $20 million USD in Series A funding as the company positions itself as an infrastructure layer for deploying open-source AI models at scale. The San Francisco-based startup says its platform can give developers and enterprises access to more than 30,000 open-source AI models through a single API, removing the need to […]
The Founding of YouTube A Short History
YouTube is one of the most influential platforms in modern media, but its origin story is surprisingly simple: a small team wanted an easier way to share video online. In the early 2000s, uploading and sending video files was slow, formats were inconsistent, and most websites weren’t built for smooth playback. YouTube’s founders focused on removing […]