Good morning. Recruitment agency Randstad dropped its list of the most in-demand jobs in Canada for 2026. The top three are all front-facing positions focused on human interaction: sales associate, administrative assistant, and customer service representative.
Consider this further proof that, even as AI advances, people don’t like talking to robots.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
🧂 British adults are eating the equivalent of 22 bags of chips a day. It turns out the British diet is a tad high in salt. A new study found that the average adult consumed the same amount of sodium every week as there is in 155 bags of chips, or crisps as they say.
📺 Your night-time TV ritual is actually good for you. A recent University of Toronto study found that watching TV after a long day can alleviate a lot of stress and exhaustion, allowing us to bounce back more easily the next morning to our responsibilities. Permission to binge your favourite show in the name of health, granted.
👶 One of the first babies born in 2026 was named by ChatGPT. A couple in Maryland decided to defer the difficult decision of naming their baby boy to the AI chatbot, which landed on Hudson Oakley Winkler. Babies being named by robots, what a way to ring in the new year.
🇫🇮 Finland is trying to teach kids to spot deepfakes. With AI deepfakes and propaganda running rampant, our Nordic friends are teaching media literacy classes — including lessons on spotting disinformation — to kids as young as three years old. Never too early to learn how to spot an AI photo of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.
🔊 You can build a wall of 100 little IKEA speakers. The furniture giant was teasing its new US$10 Kallsup speakers at CES this week, which were surprisingly high-quality for a sound system that costs less than a pizza. Apparently, you can pair up to 100 of them together to play the same music.
TECH
Lego enters a new era
Source: Lego.
Lego just pulled back the curtain on what it’s calling the most significant product evolution in 50 years.
Driving the news: The world’s biggest toymaker unveiled its new Smart Brick this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a computerized model of its 2x4 brick that lights up, makes sound effects, and plays music. The first Smart Brick sets, which will be Star Wars-themed, will roll out on March 1.
The sensors in the bricks react to each other to trigger sound and light. For example, lightsabers can flash and make sound effects as they touch.
In Lego cars, the bricks could track which one finishes first in a race, make engine noises, and trigger crash sound effects when a vehicle is turned upside down.
Why it matters: Lego has printed money, in part, by bringing its patented bricks into video games, movies, and other digital worlds. The Smart Bricks, however, are the toy giant’s first real crack at bringing digital technology into its physical products.
And it’s not just a one-off product. A top Lego exec compared Smart Bricks to launching a gaming console. Even if the first game doesn’t take off (i.e., the Star Wars sets), it’s confident the computerized brick system will eventually catch on.
Yes, but: Some play experts (a real job we just learned about) say that the Smart Bricks may ruin some of the magic of Lego, which is that it’s refreshingly technology-free. Not to disagree with the professionals, but a brick that lights up feels like a fine alternative to doomscrolling on TikTok.—LA
IN THE LAB
Source: hirilafeliciani / Shutterstock.
A new process developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign allows them to watch plants breathe. Or, put more accurately, it allows them to quantify exactly how much CO2 leaves take in versus how much water they release through their stomata — the microscopic pores that allow photosynthesis to occur.
Why it matters: Being able to determine precisely what causes stomata to open and close could be a game-changer for crop development. Specifically, breeding crops that use water more efficiently. This would be a major win, as a quarter of the world’s crops are threatened by the risk of water scarcity.
DROP THE PIN
🌎 Hint: While this is one of South America's smallest countries, it happens to be wedged between the continent's two largest. The capital city of this country is home to some of the world’s best steaks and South America's longest carnival, lasting at least 40 days.
Think you have an idea where this is? Lock in your guess here.
