Regulators, mount up

Good morning. Are you a soccer fan who wants some extra scratch and also doesn’t find The Truman Show existentially upsetting? Well then, Fox Sports has an opportunity for you!

The broadcaster is hiring an official “World Cup Watcher” for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. For US$50,000, one individual will be selected to watch every single second of all 104 matches in a custom-built glass box in Times Square where passersby can observe them.

We’ll stick to watching the games in our living rooms.

Today’s reading time is 6 minutes.

Markets: Shares in Shopify fell 15.6% yesterday after forecasting slowing revenue growth for this quarter, stoking fears investors already had about potential AI-related turbulence for the firm. The steep drop contributed to Canada’s main stock index ending the day in the red.

The White House is having second thoughts about its let ‘er rip approach to AI.

What happened: The Trump administration is considering a plan to require government reviews of new AI models by an oversight committee that would include representatives from both industry and government. 

Catch-up: The U.S. under Donald Trump has led a global charge against AI regulation. You may recall Vice-President JD Vance using his first major speech abroad to lecture attendees about the dangers of AI regulation, saying “The AI future is not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety.”

Why it matters: With the world’s most advanced AI companies all based in the U.S., the American government is the only entity capable of effectively regulating (or not) the rollout of this technology. Its posture will have enormous influence on how AI impacts everyone, even outside the U.S. 

Why it’s happening: AI models are becoming more sophisticated, and that creates greater risk that they are used for nefarious purposes, like hacking, fraud, or terrorism.

Zoom out: In a recently published blog post, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said there is a good chance AI will be “powerful enough that it could plausibly autonomously build its own successor” by the end of 2028. There is no doubt that governments will demand a say in how tech with capabilities like that is used.—TS

Louise Arbour named governor general. Mark Carney named Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as Canada’s next governor general. In addition to winning acclaim for her longtime work as a jurist in Canada, Arbour oversaw some of the world’s most notorious human rights cases, including the prosecution of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević and the leading perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. (CTV News)

The Alto high-speed rail project could cross 1,700 properties. The Crown corporation responsible for the new 1,000-kilometre train line says up to 40% of those properties could be farms. A spokesperson later clarified that the numbers are estimates, and that the final route has not yet been determined. Local opposition to the project along the proposed line has been mounting, as we documented in a report on Saturday. (CBC News)

Hantavirus may have been transmitted between humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that human-to-human transmission of the hantavirus may have occurred on a cruise ship where three passengers have died. It’s rare for hantavirus to spread between humans; typically, it’s contracted through contact with rodents. The ship is quarantined off the coast of West Africa, and the WHO says risks to the global population are low. (World Health Organization)

📡 What else is on our radar:

During National Home Building Week, let’s look beyond housing starts to what makes growth possible in the first place.

Canada’s forest products build the foundations of long-term growth (literally). That means:

If governments want to build faster and grow the economy, the opportunity is clear: more predictable timelines, coordinated approvals, and consistent adoption of modern building standards.

The demand is there. The talent and resources are ready.

See how Canada’s forest products can help build stronger communities and long-term growth at fpac.ca.

🤝 Meet Devyn Olin. She’s the founder and CEO of Cache, an AI-powered fashion resale platform that turns “influencer closets into storefronts.” We sat down with Devyn to talk about the origins of her business, the thrifting and resale boom, and a rare pair of Chanel heels.

What’s the origin story of Cache?

I was working in corporate law. I was finally making real money and I wanted to invest that money. I looked at the stock market and I thought, I don't really want to invest in tech stocks or mining stocks. I wish there was a way that I could buy stock in a Birkin bag or a Chanel bag because I fundamentally understand the value of those assets.

After interviewing hundreds of women, what I started to realize was that the problem isn't so much the need to fractionalize these things, but it's the friction in resale that prevents us from buying and selling clothes and fashion items in the same way that we would trade stocks.  So I pivoted and ultimately set out to build this mass-market resale product that eliminated the friction in resale. 

Why do you think the thrifting and resale scene is booming, besides just people trying to save money? 

While I for sure believe that economic pressures are a subconscious underlying current, I actually think it's more of this desire for individuality in a growing sea of sameness. I think trends are moving at hyper-speed and we're just being inundated with content and so much just starts to look the same. Resale offers this really interesting counterpoint where there's a slowness and it's more appealing. And it's connected to the sustainability piece, which many people (myself included) care about now.

What’s one of the most interesting pieces that has been sold on Cache? 

There was a pair of these Chanel pink ladybug heels, and I remember when we listed them, my friend actually ended up buying them. She scored them for a good price and now we've been seeing them pop up all over other vintage resellers for a major premium. I told her, “If you wanna resell them again we can list them for double,” and she said, “Honestly, now I wanna hold on to them.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read the full Q&A here.

Meta’s new age verification tool is on the lookout for chiselled jaws.

What happened: Meta has begun using AI in select countries to read faces and determine if a Facebook or Instagram user is under 13, and thus should be removed. The tool will scan photos and videos, analyzing visual clues like height and bone structure to make a decision.

Why it matters: Facial analysis has been one of the main ways of clocking minors as more governments pursue youth social media bans or age verification for porn and gaming platforms. With Canada potentially next in line, we could soon see more age-check tools like Meta’s. 

Are there any other options? One alternative is bringing age verification to the operating system level, where underage users are locked out by their device instead of an app or site. While this avoids some of the moral and practical pitfalls of facial scans, there are concerns about concentrating even more power with device makers like Apple and Google.—QH

That’s what we aim to provide in every edition of The Peak. And with The Peak Weekend Reader, we’re taking that quest to a new level.   

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✂️ ~700. Employees that Coinbase is laying off — roughly 14% of the crypto exchange’s workforce — as it goes through restructuring. The company cited a cool crypto market — bitcoin is down ~15% since this time last year — and (you can probably guess what’s coming next) AI optimization as reasons for the cuts.

^{*This is sponsored content.}

Go on and play today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!