The Depart-eh’d

Good morning. Last week, we asked you all for your thoughts on AI — how often you use it, what you use it for, and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic about this era-defining tech. After 1,385 survey responses, the results are in, and they’re fascinating. The biggest pattern we saw: how someone feels about AI is strongly correlated with how often they use it. 

If you want a comprehensive picture of the survey’s findings, or just want to read some fun AI use cases that other Peak readers have come up with, you can check it all out here.

Today’s reading time is 6 minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index surged yesterday on mining and energy sector booms. Meanwhile, tech bounced back after rough sledding last week, partly attributable to reported comments from Sam Altman that OpenAI was back to exceeding 10% monthly growth.

A Toronto police scandal that reads like a Canadian spinoff of The Departed has put all law enforcement under the microscope. 

What happened: Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating all 45 of the province’s police services following the arrests of seven Toronto police officers, who are facing a flurry of corruption charges. 

Catch-up: The Toronto police officers are accused of participating in drug trafficking, robberies, taking bribes, leaking confidential information to organized crime groups, and even plotting the murder of an Ontario corrections officer. 

Why it matters: It is one of the largest police corruption scandals in Canadian history, and unfortunately, it’s not an isolated incident. A number of the nation’s law enforcement agencies have an unfortunate track record of similar cases, especially when it comes to sharing information with organized crime groups.  

Bottom line: The severity and scope of the allegations could seriously undermine public trust in law enforcement. Some say the scandal could even compromise current criminal trials, particularly those involving the accused officers.—LA 

Trump says he won’t allow Windsor-Detroit bridge to open. Donald Trump said would “not allow” the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit to open until the U.S. is “fully compensated” and given “at least one half of this asset.” Canada covered the entire $6.4 billion cost of the bridge. (CTV News)

Mark Carney and Doug Ford chatted about a snap federal election. The Prime Minister and the Ontario Premier — who have built a surprisingly close relationship given their party affiliation — have reportedly discussed Carney calling an early federal election to secure a majority. Carney’s office denied that he’s currently considering it. (Globe and Mail) 

Air Canada has stopped flying to Cuba. The airline has suspended all routes to Cuba after the Havana airport said it was going to run out of jet fuel. Cuba is running out of fuel and other essential goods amid a U.S. effort to use the threat of tariffs to cut the island off from imports. (CBC News)

Instagram is working on a Snapchat rival. Meta is reportedly testing a new standalone app called Instants that allows users to send disappearing photos and videos to each other (sound familiar?). Facebook and Instagram famously borrowed one of Snapchat’s most popular features: Stories. (Business Insider)

Germany is tempted by Canada’s auto sector. The country’s energy minister said Ottawa’s auto strategy is “very attractive,” and that German automakers are eager to invest in Canada. South Korea — the country competing with Germany for a lucrative Canadian submarine contract —  has also expressed interest in investing in Canada’s auto sector. (Globe and Mail)

The University of Calgary is leading a 15-year government study on Canadian productivity. Because nothing screams productivity like taking a decade and a half to figure out why we aren’t very productive (we kid, we kid). (The Logic)

Average asking rents in Canada fell for the 16th straight month in January, per a report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation. And yet they’re still 12.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels. (The Canadian Press)—LA

Catch up on yesterday:

What’s happening today:

What they’re saying: “SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster “ Elon Musk proclaimed in a post on X. The world’s richest man previously said that his space company would launch five of its Starships to Mars later this year.

Why it matters: Musk previously had a ‘Mars or bust’ attitude, even calling the moon “a distraction,” but his tune has changed now that SpaceX is gearing up for potentially the largest IPO of all time. Lunar data centres are more palatable to investors than a Martian colony, and even a lunar city is at least a slightly more realistic way to goose valuations.

General Motors is trying to revive its flagging electric vehicle fortunes with the white whale of battery tech.  

Driving the news: Kurt Kelty, the man in charge of EV batteries at GM, doubled down on his team’s controversial plan to become the first major automaker to exclusively use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery technology in an interview with the Financial Times.

Catch-up: Some believe that LMR tech is a pipe dream due to the persistent issue of voltage fade, wherein energy storage declines after repeated charging. But, if perfected, it presents a Goldilocks solution for EV battery production. Not too cheap, not too pricey, juuuust right. 

Why it matters: EV uptake isn’t going to happen unless cars get cheaper, and the main way to lower prices is through battery production, which is estimated to account for 30% to 50% of the total cost of manufacturing an EV. GM (and Ford) are adamant that the LMR tech is the way to solve the battery cost problem.

What’s next: Kelty said that his team has solved voltage fading and plans to roll-out the first LMR-powered vehicles in 2028.—QH

💰 US$670 billion. How much Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are planning to spend on AI infrastructure this year combined. That investment is 10 times higher than what the Apollo space program cost, even after adjusting for the U.S. economy’s growth over that span.

Time for the titanic triumvirate of morning games: the mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, and Codebreaker.