Good morning. In case you — like most people — have already forgotten about the Team Canada Olympic curling controversy, the Swedish player who initially made a stink about double-touching is here to jog your memory over a month after Canada’s gold medal victory.
Curler Oskar Eriksson went on Swedish TV for a segment about how touching a stone can affect a curling rock, and re-accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of cheating. In an immaculate bit of hyperbole, Eriksson said during the segment, “Evil unfortunately wins sometimes.”
Eriksson’s team may have finished tied for last in the Olympics, but he’s well on his way to winning The Peak’s first-ever award for Year’s Sorest Loser.
Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.
MARKETS
| ▲ | TSX |
33,620.57 |
+1.15% |
|
| ▲ | S&P 500 |
6,782.81 |
+2.51% |
|
| ▲ | DOW JONES |
47,909.92 |
+2.85% |
|
| ▲ | NASDAQ |
22,634.99 |
+2.80% |
|
| ▲ | GOLD |
4,745.0 |
+1.29% |
|
| ▼ | OIL |
96.5 |
-14.56% |
|
| ▲ | CAD/USD |
0.72 |
+0.36% |
|
| ▲ | BTC/USD |
71,521.27 |
+2.12% |
Markets: Canada’s main stock index hit a five-week high (even as oil prices plummeted) and top Wall Street indexes rallied yesterday as the market celebrated the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
TECH
Anthropic is afraid to release its new model
One of the world’s leading AI companies may have built a model too powerful for our own good.
Driving the news: Anthropic is withholding its newest model, Mythos, from the public and only releasing it to select cybersecurity groups and large tech companies, citing fears it could hack even the world’s most sophisticated computer systems.
The AI startup (though after reporting a US$30 billion run rate, it may be time to retire “startup”) says the new model won’t be released until it can put safeguards in place to prevent it being used for cyberattacks.
According to Anthropic, Mythos has found bugs (and ways to exploit them) in “every major operating system and web browser." In over 83% of test cases, the model created plans to exploit vulnerabilities on its first try.
Zoom in: In one of the most eye-opening examples, Anthropic says Mythos found multiple vulnerabilities in something called the Linux kernel, a core component of the software that powers most of the world’s servers.
Anthropic’s model was able to piece together those flaws, which cybersecurity researchers had missed for years, in a way that would let hackers take complete control of any device running on Linux.
In another test, Mythos found a nearly three-decade-old vulnerability in OpenBSD (widely considered the most secure open source operating system in the world) that would allow hackers to crash any machine running on it.
Why it matters: AI has already allowed cybercriminals to launch more sophisticated and frequent attacks. Without proper guardrails, this next generation of models could enable bad actors to exploit pretty much any computer system — from iPhones to supercomputers — with relative ease.
Dean Ball, a researcher and former White House adviser on AI, said that Mythos is “a tool that could damage the operations of critical infrastructure and government services in every country on Earth.”
What’s next: OpenAI is taking a similar step with its upcoming model, releasing it only to a small group of companies for testing. The real question becomes how long these rival AI companies will be willing to hold off product releases for the sake of public safety.—LA
BIG PICTURE
Source: @MarkJCarney / X.
Liberals on the doorstep of majority after fifth floor crossing. Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu has joined the Liberal caucus, putting Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government just one seat shy of a majority. With the Liberals expected to win at least two of the three byelections next week, Carney’s government has all but guaranteed a functioning majority. Gladu, who is the fifth MP to cross the floor, criticized Conservative MPs who joined the Liberals earlier this year, saying that floor-crossing should automatically trigger a byelection. (CTV News)
Iran-U.S. ceasefire in doubt after Strait of Hormuz closed again. Iran closed the Strait following Israeli attacks in Lebanon yesterday, despite U.S. demands to reopen the trade artery as part of their two-week ceasefire deal. The agreement to pause the five-week-long war is still quite murky, with both sides claiming different terms publicly and U.S. Vice President JD Vance calling it a “fragile” deal. (Associated Press)
BYD is planning to open up Canadian dealerships. The Chinese EV maker says it will open up 20 locations as part of its Canadian expansion. BYD, which will be allowed to ship 49,000 EVs into Canada tariff-free this year, is also considering building a factory and acquiring a more established automaker with a presence in Canada. (Bloomberg News)
📡 What else is on our radar:
Meta rolled out the first new AI model from its (very well-paid) Superintelligence Lab.
Ottawa has cleared the $5.5 billion sale of Toronto-based Allied Gold to China’s Zijin Gold.
Ontario steelmaker Algoma is launching a joint venture with Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel.
IN THE LAB
New AI tool could help detect heart failure before it strikes
Source: Sebastian_Photography / Shutterstock.
Consider this AI story a balm to the apocalyptic one up top. A team of University of Oxford scientists has developed an AI-powered tool that can help predict risks of heart failure five years before it starts by spotting signs of fat around the heart — the buildups are otherwise invisible to the human eye. In a study of 72,000 patients, the tool worked with 86% accuracy.
TRANSPORT
Air Canada wants you to trust them with dispute resolution
Source: Margarita Young / Shutterstock.
Air Canada is piloting (I mean, they’re always piloting) a new system for dispute resolution.
What happened: Canada’s largest airline is asking 500 randomly selected customers with outstanding complaints filed through the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) if they would bring their cases to a new independent arbitrator that promises to make a ruling within 90 days. Though the rulings are not legally binding, Air Canada promises to abide by them.
The body is funded by the airline but run by the U.K.-based non-profit CDRL Group. Complainants can try it out without losing their spot in line for the CTA process.
Air Canada nodded to similar third-party arbitrators that exist across Europe, which customers can choose to bring complaints to after first lodging them with the airline.
Why it matters: We’re at the point where European-style alternate dispute bodies may be necessary to take a load off of the CTA. The regulator now has a backlog of more than 95,000 cases and takes three years on average to resolve a complaint. This logjam is obviously a pain for travellers and could erode the integrity of the system in their eyes.
Yes, but: An arbitrator contracted by the company you’re mad at isn’t exactly a recipe for restoring trust either, especially as airlines have been accused of exacerbating CTA wait times by contesting claims. As Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs put it, “It’s like if somebody is divorcing [you and] hires their best friend to be the impartial arbitrator.”—QH
ONE BIG NUMBER
🗓️ 36.2%. Share of Canadians who work six or more unpaid hours every week, according to ADP Research data shared with The Peak. On average, over a third of Canadians are clocking in for nearly an entire day of unpaid work.
PEAK PICKS
A Canadian chef has taken home the coveted title of world champion of pizza.
The New York Times believes they have discovered the identity of Bitcoin's founder, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. (New York Times, paywalled)
Scaredy cats rejoice: There’s a new app that warns you about jump scares in movies.
Why variety is the key to long-term fitness, according to a sports medicine doctor.
University of Ottawa researchers took a look at how Canadians are using emojis at work.
Read: Is a far-right presidency in France inevitable? (Peak Premium, paywalled)
Enough dilly-dallying, it’s time for today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who.
