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Know What Matters in Tech Before It Hits the Mainstream

By the time AI news hits CNBC, CNN, Fox, and even social media, the info is already too late. What feels “new” to most people has usually been in motion for weeks — sometimes months — quietly shaping products, markets, and decisions behind the scenes.

Forward Future is a daily briefing for people who want to stay competitive in the fastest evolving technology shift we’ve ever seen. Each day, we surface the AI developments that actually matter, explain why they’re important, and connect them to what comes next.

We track the real inflection points: model releases, infrastructure shifts, policy moves, and early adoption signals that determine how AI shows up in the world — long before it becomes a talking point on TV or a trend on your feed.

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Jason’s Industry Insights Podcast

Victor Kuarsingh and I have known each other for nearly 20 years, going back to when I was at Juniper and Victor was designing IP architecture at Rogers.

Victor is now the Managing Vice President of Connectivity at Capital One, and I have this little podcast. 🤔

Join us for an ad hoc chat about..

→ Home networking reliability, AI for network observability, AI guardrails and the "how much rope" problem, where autonomous AI decision-making is genuinely better than humans, and where judgment calls still require a person.

→ Personal AI use and critical thinking, and Victor's view that fintech/payments is where telecom was 20 years ago, ripe for the same kind of transformation.

→ We also touch on Digital identity and voice authentication. Deepfakes, voice cloning, and whether we'll ever have a reliable way to confirm who we're actually talking to.

→ The "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" question.. AI existential risk framed through sci-fi (WarGames, Battlestar Galactica, Demon Seed), wrapping up with humanity's tendency to build first and ask questions later

A bit of a different format than usual. Let me know what you think!

Listen Here!

Broadband / Telco

Telus says it is investigating hack of its systems - The ShinyHunters hacking group told Reuters in a message it stole at least 700 terabytes of ​data from Telus.

My Take: You’d need a pretty big USB stick for that.

🇨🇦Prohibition of fees that are a barrier to switching cellphone and Internet plans -Recent changes to the Telecommunications Act require the CRTC to put new consumer protection measures in place. As part of this work, the CRTC held a public consultation to better understand how fees can prevent Canadians from switching plans. The CRTC heard a wide range of perspectives, including from individuals, consumer groups, and service providers.

Based on the public record, the CRTC is eliminating extra fees to activate, change, or cancel a plan. This will give consumers more flexibility to manage their plans and take advantage of better offers without worrying about unexpected costs.

My Take: Here’s a summary of what’s being removed. This should actually be in the Regulatory section, but whatever..

• Activation fees - Charged when starting a cellphone or internet plan. The CRTC says these act as a barrier to switching providers. I never paid activation fees. They always waived it.
  

• Plan change / modification fees - Charged when changing packages, speed tiers, or service options. These will no longer be allowed if the change is within the same service.
  

• Cancellation fees related to switching plans - Applies when a customer cancels to move to another provider or plan. The goal is to remove costs that discourage competition.
  

• Certain one-time administrative fees tied to plan activation or modification These fees are treated as barriers to consumer mobility.

Are we just going to see these bundled into service tiers? Early termination fees on contracts still apply.

Google finally calls time on FTTH - Google has been dabbling in the US fibre broadband sector for 16 years. Now its parent, Alphabet, has agreed to merge its Gfiber operation with Astound Broadband. Infrastructure investor Stonepeak will be the majority owner of the combined venture 

My Take: This is another example of how access networks are different from the rest of tech. Fiber needs long-term capital and steady returns, so it keeps ending up with infrastructure investors instead of platform companies. The converged network may be where the industry is going, but building the physical network is still slow, expensive, and hard to scale.

AT&T unveils $250B investment to expand 5G, fiber, satellite network infrastructure - The announcement, which coincided with the 150th anniversary of the first telephone call, states AT&T will spend that $250 billion over the next five years to build “always-on connectivity” that supports AI, cloud computing, autonomous applications and other “data-heavy” services.

My Take: This is really about the converged network, where fiber, wireless, and satellite converge into a single platform to support AI and cloud traffic. If you’re gonna go, go big!

Charter's HFC upgrade will be half done by year-end, CEO says - Charter's multi-phased HFC upgrade is slated to be 50% complete by the end of 2026. Separately, Charter plans to accelerate DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades in Cox territories after the merger closes.

My Take: Charter is betting that DOCSIS upgrades can keep HFC competitive without the cost of rebuilding the network in fiber. The coax owes them nothing. The question is whether these step-by-step upgrades can really keep pace with fiber, or if this is just extending the life of the network while the market keeps moving.

Ciena eyes even more growth as optical market set to double – CEO - The optical networking market is set to double over the next few years amid soaring demand from service providers and hyperscalers alike, Ciena CEO Gary Smith told Light Reading, with trends such as an ongoing 'opticalization' of the data center contributing to growth.

My Take: The key point is that AI is not only driving more traffic between data centers but also forcing changes within them. As GPU clusters get bigger and faster, electrical connections are hitting real limits, so more of that wiring is moving to optical. Ciena also sees more demand for AI training spread across multiple sites and for hyperscalers building private fiber networks to connect everything.

‘AI is the gas on the fire’ – Verizon on global fiber, metro access, private 5G - Global, porgrammable, and dense – from cloud to edge; Verizon Business talked at MWC about how its sees the new AI stack evolving for telcos, and why its investments in backbone fiber, metro access, and private network will link cloud models and inference workloads to real-world machines.

My Take: Verizon is making a clear case that AI finally gives telecom a job beyond selling raw bandwidth.

MWC robots see telcos transform into token tollsters - Even rivals Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) were on the same page when touting the telco opportunity in our briefings, with operators building out the infrastructure for AI tokenomics to become a reality. Fiber routes, metro data centers, edge facilities, mobile core deployments, private 5G networks – all make up the highway for AI inferencing to power robots, chatbots, and agentic bots, with telcos becoming token tollsters or even token turnpike trusts, to upgrade some olde Industrial Revolution terminology.

My Take: Telcos want to be the toll road for AI, and that is better than being left out entirely, but toll roads rarely capture the biggest upside. The bigger risk is that telecom does the hard, expensive infrastructure work while hyperscalers, model vendors, and software players keep most of the value, which is pretty much the way it’s always been.

How Cisco is rethinking compute in the network - Move over speeds and feeds; it’s all about programmability, platforms, and ‘velocity’

My Take: This article explains how Cisco is changing the way it thinks about networking by adding more compute-like intelligence inside the network itself, instead of just building faster switches. With its new Silicon One chips, including the G300, Cisco wants networks to be programmable, capable of making decisions, and able to adapt quickly to AI workloads. Interesting.

Lumen CEO Kate Johnson cautious on digital sovereignty, upbeat on AI bubble - The chief exec discusses neo-networks and leading the internet's 'biggest ever expansion' 

My Take: She warns that digital sovereignty, where countries try to keep data and infrastructure inside their borders, could slow innovation just as demand for AI infrastructure is exploding.

QUICK HITS:

• TekSavvy calls on CRTC in second Cogeco copper removal dispute

• Nvidia-Nokia deal remains a puzzle four months on

• 🇨🇦 New partnerships beef up Bell's sovereign security and AI efforts

• The audacious bet to bring edge computing to the cell tower

• Cisco rights the MWC narrative – fiber first, mobile later, as AI agents make minds race

Regulatory

CANADA (2026-03-06 to 2026-03-12)

Canada had a quiet week with no substantive regulatory developments from the CRTC. The commission issued a routine tariff approval for Northwestel on March 5th and awarded cost recovery to a public interest intervenor on March 6th, but otherwise released no decisions or policy changes during this period. The CRTC's weekly preview indicated no decisions were scheduled for the week of March 9-13, suggesting a deliberate pause in major proceedings. This silence is notable given the significant spectrum and broadband activity south of the border—watch whether the CRTC is preparing announcements on its own 6 GHz unlicensed expansion plans or responses to changes in U.S. BEAD funding that could affect cross-border fiber economics.

UNITED STATES (2026-03-06 to 2026-03-12)

The FCC finalized rules allowing unlicensed Wi-Fi devices to operate at higher power in the 6 GHz band using geofencing technology to protect licensed microwave backhaul links, a decision that will force incumbent operators to register their point-to-point systems in coordination databases or risk interference from the flood of new Wi-Fi 6E and 7 devices hitting the market. More consequential, NTIA is gathering industry input on how to spend BEAD program funds "saved" through the Trump administration's benefit-of-the-bargain reforms—code for redirecting billions in broadband subsidies away from their original deployment targets —which could fundamentally reshape rural fiber economics and competitive positioning for the next decade. Meanwhile, NTIA opened an inquiry into whether satellite-to-smartphone services operating in L-band spectrum could interfere with GPS signals, a proceeding that could impose costly new emission limits on emerging direct-to-device offerings from SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile, and others just as this market begins commercialization. Watch how aggressively GPS-dependent industries (aviation, precision agriculture, logistics) push for restrictions that could kneecap satellite-cellular competition before it scales.

UNITED KINGDOM (2026-03-06 to 2026-03-12)

Ofcom published its first annual report under the Online Safety Act, showing how it's using technology notices to force platforms to remove terrorism and child sexual abuse content, demonstrating an enforcement posture that's more muscular than many observers expected and setting precedents that could affect any telecom operator hosting user-generated content or providing cloud services to affected platforms. The regulator also released its second security report to the Secretary of State covering October 2024 to October 2025, detailing how telecom operators are implementing the new security framework for critical national infrastructure—early compliance data that will shape whether the government views current requirements as sufficient or pushes for additional controls. The coordination memorandum between Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority was updated, clarifying how the agencies will handle overlapping jurisdiction on digital markets issues, which matters for any operator considering M&A activity or facing market dominance questions. The rest of the week was dominated by routine annual reports and the publication of historical documents, suggesting Ofcom is in information-gathering mode ahead of its next wave of policy interventions later this spring.

NTIA Responds to Study Suggesting BEAD Flaw Could Lose Billions to Small ISPs - The National Telecommunications and Information Administration responded to a report that claimed to spot a major structural flaw in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program — a flaw that could cost billions. 

My Take: This is a good example of how well-intended funding rules can create bad outcomes. When price is weighted too heavily, smaller or weaker bidders can win on paper, but the real risk shows up later if they cannot deliver or sustain the network. With this much money involved, execution should matter more than scoring formulas.

🇨🇦 Canadian Internet Society advocates for overhaul of CRTC - The Canadian Internet Society (TCIS) is calling for a massive overhaul of the CRTC in a white paper released on March 9. The 17-page report says the commission has not kept pace with the transformation of society by the internet. 

My Take: Here’s a summary of the Actions and Recommendations from the report.

Proposed Actions and Recommendations

TCIS categorizes its recommendations into four primary areas to modernize the regulator:

1. Governance and Commissioner Appointments

• Reduce and Specialize: Reduce the number of commissioners to nine, with three dedicated specifically to telecommunications and three to broadcasting.

• Expertise Requirements: Implement mandatory requirements for professional expertise in fields such as engineering, economics, competition policy, or IP network management for all appointments.

• Market-Based Pay: Increase compensation for commissioners and senior expert staff to market-based levels to attract top talent.

2. Structural Reform and Functionality

• Structural Separation: Formally separate the broadcasting and telecommunications functions within the CRTC, with staff reporting to respective vice-chairs.

• Consolidate Telecom Oversight: Transfer radio spectrum management and regulatory functions (such as auctions and licensing) from ISED to the CRTC to reduce overlap and political delay.

• Enhanced Authority: Give the CRTC clear authority to resolve disputes regarding access to support structures (like utility poles) on both public and private property.

3. Building In-House Expertise

• Public Research Budget: Provide a dedicated budget for the CRTC to conduct and publish independent research to support evidence-based decision-making.

• Chief Technology Officer: Appoint a CTO to provide up-to-date intelligence on technical issues and challenge claims that technology prevents certain regulatory objectives.

• Expert Consultants: Ensure the CRTC has the budget and authority to retain specialized consultants at market rates to avoid delays.

4. Transparency, Accountability, and Independence

• Limit Political Intervention: Amend the Telecommunications Act to remove the government's authority to vary or set aside CRTC decisions, allowing them only to send decisions back for review.

• Public Disclosure: Create a public register to disclose all ex parte meetings between industry representatives and CRTC officials.

• Service Standards: Establish and publish clear performance standards and timelines for regulatory proceedings, with regular audits of these standards.

• Public Participation: Include funding for public-interest participation directly in the CRTC's operational budget, recovered through industry fees.

• Outcome-Based Framework: In telecommunications, shift toward a principles-based framework focused on outcomes like affordability, reliability, and access.

🇨🇦 Bell scraps broadcasting complaint against Telus, marks second recently-dropped dispute between telcos - In a staff letter addressed to Bell Media, the BCE Inc. subsidiary, and Telus Corp. on March 10, the CRTC said Bell had submitted a letter withdrawing a Part 1 application against Telus, which argued Telus had given Rogers Communications Inc.’s Sports & Media division undue preference, and subjected Bell Media to undue disadvantage by the way in which Telus packaged the two companies discretionary services.

My Take: They’re becoming quite the market buddies. Simply regulatory-aligned national carriers + allied satellite partners vs. foreign platforms, or is there a deeper conspiracy theory here… Hmmm… 🤔

Fiber Optic Sensing

AP Sensing Contributes Fiber Optic Sensing Technology to Germany’s Netz33 Infrastructure Project - AP Sensing is contributing its expertise in Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) technology to the Netz33 project, an initiative led by the Niedax Group to build a new nationwide fiber optic backbone network designed to strengthen Germany’s digital infrastructure.

My Take: “The project aims to establish a high-performance and resilient fiber network with a redundantly interconnected architecture, enabling secure data transmission over long distances. Netz33 is designed to meet the requirements of the EU’s NIS2 Directive as well as Germany’s legislation for safeguarding critical infrastructure.”

Seems someone named me wrote something about this type of approach in relation to Canada. See Issue #112.

Transportation Corridors Can Do More – Colocating Utilities Unlocks the Full Value of Infrastructure - Across the United States, transportation corridors already host an enormous amount of critical infrastructure. Highways, rail lines, and other rights-of-way frequently often carry buried electric transmission, telecommunications fiber, water infrastructure, and pipelines. These shared corridors represent one of the most important – yet often overlooked – opportunities to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure systems.

My Take: Using transportation corridors for fiber, power, and communications shows that the biggest gains in infrastructure may come from better coordination, not new technology. The countries that learn to build shared networks more quickly will have an advantage as demand for data, energy, and connectivity continues to rise.

What’s Happening In Space?

Starlink Network Update - Starlink’s speed and latency have radically improved over the past year. With an unprecedented level of growth, and more than 6 million active customers and counting globally, the network serves exponentially more users. For example, in the United States the average household is approximately 2.5 people. Starlink also connects schools, health centers, and businesses – including most major cruise lines and several commercial airlines who provide Starlink’s high-speed internet to tens of millions of passengers a year. With an ever-growing number of people using the network in the United States and around the world, the Starlink team has laid the foundation for a massive step-increase in capacity over the next few years.

My Take: There’s no date on these things, but the timeline looks right. Either way, speed is up, and latency is down. What else do they need, except more capacity!

Better Signal: 1,600 Starlink Satellites Move Into Lower Orbits - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggests Starlink users will get better signal quality after the company lowers approximately 4,400 satellites by about 70 kilometers.

My Take: Closer = better, of course. Better latency. Better debris.. well, less debris, which is better.. Better safety because of it. .. “The satellites were previously orbiting the Earth at 550 kilometers (341 miles). But now McDowell says 652 of the satellites have been lowered to 480-kilometer orbits, while another 972 satellites “are currently on the way down,” he wrote.”

I Tested Starlink’s Low-Cost $80-Per-Month Plan: It's Not the Downgrade I Expected - I put Starlink's Residential 200 Mbps 'Lite' plan through its paces to see if deprioritized data means a second-class experience. What I found? You might not even notice the difference.

My Take: Scaling at lower price points to more mainstream and competitive customers will be interesting to watch, both in terms of capacity and updates.

🇨🇦 Satellites are Canada’s next sovereignty frontier as global ‘race’ heats up - During a speech to Australia’s parliament on Thursday, Carney highlighted a soon-to-launch, made-in-Canada low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network that could soon compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink in providing far-reaching internet services

My Take: The government sees satellite constellations as critical for secure military connectivity, Arctic coverage, and reliable communications in remote areas where traditional networks are limited. Huge money in Military applications right now.

Telesat advances Telesat Lightspeed terrestrial network with new Quebec and 🇨🇦 Saskatchewan landing station sites -  one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, announced the acquisition of land in Estevan, Saskatchewan and Papineauville, Quebec, and the lease of land in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. These sites will host new landing stations that will route data between the Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network and major fibre and internet exchange points.  The geographically diverse locations enhance network resiliency and performance for the satellite network.

My Take: Now all they need is… satellites!

Starlink vs. Physics. Can Cell Towers in Space Reach Devices Indoors? - For now, execs at traditional carriers like T-Mobile aren't worried about competing with Starlink, arguing that they work best as partners given SpaceX's network limitations.

My Take: Physics is a reminder that space networks will likely extend coverage, not replace it. The long-term winners may be the companies that combine satellites with terrestrial networks, not the ones trying to eliminate them. Convergence. That’s where the winners will live.

This SpaceX veteran says the next big thing in space is satellites that return to Earth -Brian Taylor, who helped build satellites for networks like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo, founded Lux Aeterna in December 2024 to develop satellite structures with a built-in heat shield that will allow them to return to Earth with their payloads intact.

My Take: If satellites become reusable, it could lower costs, reduce space debris, and make space infrastructure more like aviation instead of one-time hardware. Greta would be happy. How much more does a recoverable satellite cost?

European operators scramble to keep pace with satellite initiatives - At Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, SpaceX made a splash, announcing that its direct-to-cell constellation, called Starlink Mobile, will aim to connect to regular, unmodified cell phones everywhere in the world. But some European groups also made satellite-related announcements at the show, albeit to much less fanfare.

My Take: To stay relevant, European operators are forming partnerships, investing in their own satellite programs, and pushing governments to support regional space-based networks. The concern is that if Europe depends on U.S. private companies for satellite connectivity, it could weaken its digital independence and security.

FCC chair criticizes slow pace of Amazon satellite launches - I think Amazon should focus on getting Amazon's house in order with their own launches and their own satellite constellation, rather than worrying about other people that are actually out there ​launching satellites at the pace and cadence that SpaceX is," FCC Chair Brendan ​Carr told Reuters in an interview.

My Take: Regulators care about progress, not promises. If Amazon misses deployment deadlines, it could lose spectrum rights or scale advantages, which would hurt its long-term cloud and connectivity strategy. Amazon argued the request was unrealistic and could create regulatory and space-traffic problems, while the FCC chairman pushed back, saying companies should focus on meeting their own deployment commitments instead of trying to slow competitors.

QUICK HITS:

• At MWC, SpaceX execs tout Starlink V2 – and a key carrier partner for it

• The Internet Economy’s Evolution and What It Reveals About the Space Economy

• Startup Working on Orbital Data Centers Teases Bitcoin Mining in Space, Too

• Starlink Grounds $5 Standby Mode, Blocks In-Motion Use

• The "Self-Healing Mesh": Why the Orbital Laser Race is the New Fiber Optic Revolution

• Skylo's trajectory toward the 'standardized sky' looks to include multiple orbits

• Congress wants the International Space Station to keep flying until 2032. Here's why

• Jeff Bezos' Amazon Urges FCC To Prevent Elon Musk's SpaceX Proposal To Launch A Million Satellites

Data Centres

🇨🇦 Plan for supersized AI data centre in Olds shot down, for now - The Alberta Utilities Commission rejected Synapse's application Friday, citing significant deficiencies — including a public consultation process that began just 14 days before the application was submitted. Some residents living near the proposed site worry this isn't the end of the road.

My Take: I think many people in Olds are pretty happy about this. The NIMBY folks seem to be winning.

Amazon thinks SpaceX's data center plan is a bunch of hooey - Amazon has urged the FCC to deny SpaceX's plan to build orbital data centers comprising up to 1 million satellites, arguing that it's 'wholly unrealistic' and would give SpaceX 'near-total control' of launch insertion orbits.

Data centres in space: less crazy than you think - They could be cheaper than ones on Earth, with the right technology

My Take: Here. Two differemt perspectives with this ongoing debate!

Defending Data Centers from Drone Espionage and Attacks - Disrupting and destroying critical infrastructure has long been a tactic of hot and cold wars, terrorism and political activism. Sensitive locations – such as those used by the oil, gas and mining industries, alongside electricity and water supplies, roads, and military assets including bases and the impending nuclear-powered submarine shipyards Australia will build as part of the AUKUS agreement – are of incredible value, and spying, interrupting or damaging them is a priority for adversaries in any conflict.

My Take: Timely, in the wake of the attack on AWS’s data centre in the UAE.

QUICK HITS:

• Could war with Iran halt America’s blossoming data center boom?

• 🇨🇦 Alberta Utilities Commission rejects gas-fired power plant for Synapse data center near Calgary, Canada

Enabling AI

Family of Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor sues OpenAI - A Tumbler Ridge family, whose daughter was critically injured in the Feb. 10 shooting in the small community, is suing tech giant OpenAI.

My Take: We, well I, talked about this last week. This will be interesting to follow as it will be precedent-setting for sure.

Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence - In this paper, we present a new framework for understanding AI’s labor market impacts, and test it against early data, finding limited evidence that AI has affected employment to date. Our goal is to establish an approach for measuring how AI is affecting employment, and to revisit these analyses periodically.

My Take: There some cool stuff in here. I like this spider chart, or radar graph, or whatever they call these. This is LLM specific, but in general I disagree with Food and Serving, though. Easy-to-use tech to order and have robots deliver to tables, etc. And if you keep reading, you’ll see an article about Police Drones, so “Protective Service” may be off a little bit. Same with Agriculture, etc.

Summon This AI Agent by Speaking Its Wake Word Mid-Phone Call - Deutsche Telekom, the German cell provider—which holds a majority stake in T-Mobile—is partnering with ElevenLabs to enable an AI assistant on all of its network’s calls in Germany. No app required.

My Take: "Hey Magenta”.. be careful you’re not having a discussion about Blues Clues on any T-Mobile call.

The Magenta assistant works when one person uses the wake words, “Hey Magenta,” during a call. Then, the assistant can be asked to translate languages live, reference a user’s calendar information to find availability, or use a map service to find nearby places.

Anthropic to challenge DOD’s supply chain label in court - The statement comes a few hours after the DOD officially designated Anthropic a supply chain risk following a weeks-long dispute over how much control the military should have over AI systems. A supply chain risk designation can bar a company from working with the Pentagon and its contractors.

My Take: Hopefully, the moral majority prevails.

AT&T combines with AWS in metro, Ericsson in RAN, Azure at edge - AT&T is tightening its ties with hyperscale cloud partners as it readies its network for the AI era – embedding last-mile fiber and 5G directly into AWS environments, pushing AI into the RAN, and expanding its edge ecosystem with Microsoft.

My Take: You can run, but you can’t hide. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

“AT&T said the solution will reduce network complexity and latency for real‑time analytics, machine learning, and agentic AI use cases. The firm is building an “AI‑ready network”

Meet the superusers letting AI take over their lives - As AI systems grow more capable, their heaviest users are giving them more and more control

My Take: “With two young kids at home, Kuo and his partner also rely on AI to help with parenting. They’ve read a lot of parenting literature, but found the suggested strategies can be difficult to implement in real life. Using AI to describe exactly what’s happening has resulted in more “concrete” advice, Kuo said, comparing it to a coach.”

Really? Ditch the gentle parenting nonsense and just say “no.” How did we all survive and have children who are self-sufficient without AI? We made them better and stronger.

7 danger moments that show AI's darker side - AI's darker behaviors continue to raise questions about safety and guardrails.

My Take: Read the list… Always with the Nukes..

Amazon convenes ‘deep dive’ internal meeting to address outages - An internal document viewed by CNBC originally said generative AI-assisted production changes were partly to blame for the issues, but the reference to GenAI was subsequently deleted.

My Take: Oh, I see. Fire all the people because you’ve replaced them with AI, and then blame the AI - that you can’t fire - for the issue. It’s a genius plan 😉 New T-Shirt coming. “Blame my AI”

QUICK HITS:

• X probes offensive posts by xAI’s Grok chatbot, Sky News reports

• Can AI Kill the Venture Capitalist?

• AI and Creative Destruction

• 🇨🇦 Ottawa mulls workaround to pass online harms bill without tackling AI

This and That!

China warns of global chip shortages as Nexperia dispute escalates again - China's commerce ministry on Saturday raised the possibility of ‌another global semiconductor supply chain crisis due to "new conflicts" between Dutch chipmaker Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary.

My Take: One word. Diversify.

China could see widespread use of brain-computer tech in 3-5 years, expert says - China could ​see brain-computer interface (BCI) technology move into practical public use within three to five years as products ‌mature, a leading BCI expert said, as Beijing races to catch up with U.S. startups including Elon Musk's Neuralink.

My Take: I posted that on LinkedIn today and then saw this article. Am I crazy, or could this happen?

Summerville DFR Launches With Nokia and Motorola Solutions - The Summerville Police Department is launching South Carolina’s first Drone as First Responder program powered by a very different stack. At the core is Nokia’s drone in a box hardware integrated with Motorola Solutions’ CAPE software.

My Take: This is like Robocop with propellers. These are “purpose designed drones for law enforcement, complete with lights, sirens, and the ability to carry emergency supplies like Narcan or an EpiPen. These aircraft are built specifically for DFR missions, not adapted from consumer photography platforms.”

I wonder how many donuts it can carry. HAHAHAHAHA

‘Flying Cars’ Will Take Off in American Skies This Summer - The federal government announced a new pilot program designed to get new kinds of ultralight vehicles and “eVTOLs” up and running around the country—even if they’re not fully FAA-certified.

My Take: “Eight regions across the US, including New York and New Jersey, Texas, Florida, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, will take part in a three-year pilot program that will see new aircraft designs ferrying people and cargo around the country even before they formally receive full certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration.” Electric, and all that. Psychological barrier around planes and electric engines.

🇨🇦 New data shows just how dependent Canadian businesses are on U.S. tech - Almost two-thirds of more than 700 software tools used by Canadian businesses are made by U.S. companies, while just 17 per cent are made by firms headquartered in Canada

My Take: Well, according to the SaaSpocalypse people, everyone will just recreate what they need all by themselves, so there’s really nothing to see here. Maybe Canada should incentivize more software development. 🙄

🇨🇦 Privacy experts sound the alarm as Canada mulls teen social media ban - Carney says he’s open to the idea of banning children from social media. Experts worry the technology required might not be up to the job.

My Take: If they’re not adults, they have no digital privacy rights. The concerns surround the age-verification systems, including age-guessing AI.

'Rectal garlic insertion for immune support': Medical chatbots confidently give disastrously misguided advice, experts say - AI chatbots are seduced by misinformation that is delivered in medical jargon, leading them to give potentially dangerous advice.

My Take: There’s a simple solution here. Just say NO.

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: “North America is the world’s largest oil-producing region in 2025, generating over 31 million barrels per day, equal to nearly 30% of global supply.”

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

IMDb: 6.4/10

JMDb: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿/10 (“big dumb fun.” Very entertaining)

War Machine (2026) is what happens when a Ranger training scenario accidentally queues up a Halo mission, and nobody gets the memo.

Alan Ritchson’s 81 is a walking slab of guilt and delts, dragging his squad through mud, bad decisions, and one very determined alien murder‑bot. The premise is blissfully dumb in the best way: all the recruits have blanks, the robot does not, and the movie leans into that imbalance with gusto.

Patrick Hughes shoots the action so you feel every sprint, tackle, and body‑slam, even when the script is busy shouting in capital letters. The last act can’t quite match the lean, brutal momentum of the first, but as ‘big dumb fun’ goes, this is a perfectly serviceable Friday‑night adrenaline delivery system.

Reacher versus Cybertron on a streaming budget isn’t art, but it’s hard to call it boring.

Until Next Time

Jason’s Industry Insights is produced by Verity Aptus.

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