Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 3h

"The Trump administration is investing in Canadian critical mineral companies. But Ottawa can stop it ... Those minerals include lithium, copper, nickel and others that are essential for modern technology." www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...

ANALYSIS | The Trump administration is investing in Canadian critical mineral companies. But Ottawa can stop it | CBC News

The Trump administration has purchased a stake in two Canadian critical mineral companies, a move experts say is unusual, and which raises questions about whether Ottawa should block the deals in the ...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

One weekend in mid-August, hundreds of inmates at a minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas, were locked down, except one: 63-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted accomplice in the sexual abuse of underage girls. She was expecting a secret visitor. www.wsj.com/us-news/ghis...

Lockdowns and a Mysterious Meeting: A Quiet Texas Prison Adapts to Life With Ghislaine Maxwell

The unexpected arrival of the Epstein associate upset the camp’s routines. Some inmates say she got favorable treatment.

www.wsj.com

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 30m

New study finds Democrats represent public opinion better than Republicans: "the quality of statehouse democracy, here meaning the dynamic relationship between opinion and policy, is substantially weakened by Republican Party control of state government."

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 11m

Plausible but TBD..."Why Russia’s provocations in Europe actually signal a weakened strategic position." theconversation.com/why-russias-...

Why Russia’s provocations in Europe actually signal a weakened strategic position

Russian military and economic weaknesses are apparently forcing Putin to use unconventional means to secure victory against Ukraine.

theconversation.com

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 3h

"The Trump administration has purchased a stake in two Canadian critical mineral companies, a move experts say is certainly unusual, if not extraordinary, and which raise questions about whether Ottawa should block them in the interest of national security."

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 3h

"The Trump administration is investing in Canadian critical mineral companies. But Ottawa can stop it ... Those minerals include lithium, copper, nickel and others that are essential for modern technology." www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...

ANALYSIS | The Trump administration is investing in Canadian critical mineral companies. But Ottawa can stop it | CBC News

The Trump administration has purchased a stake in two Canadian critical mineral companies, a move experts say is unusual, and which raises questions about whether Ottawa should block the deals in the ...

www.cbc.ca

1 9 7

Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

Canada has a long history of being surprisingly provincial. However, relinquishing digital sovereignty without a fight represents a strategic misstep in the broader project of nation-building, as technological autonomy increasingly shapes economic security, cultural identity, & political legitimacy.

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 10h

"Trump Action Tracker" - A tool to track how President Trump and his administration are "flooding the zone" and eroding the rule of law. www.trumpactiontracker.info?

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

"Mystery visitors plunged Maxwell’s Texas prison camp into lockdown as inmates complain of preferential treatment, report says" www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Mystery meetings and lockdowns: Maxwell’s arrival at Texas prison unsettled inmates

Maxwell had a mysterious meeting in the prison’s chapel that prevented other inmates from getting their outdoor time, per the report

www.independent.co.uk

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

Here's a bit more about what Canadians think about AI from a survey (n=1500 - census balanced) we conducted earlier this year. bsky.app/profile/soci...

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

Canadians are split on GenAI’s net societal impact (39% positive, 34% negative, 27% neutral), but unite around key concerns—security and privacy (72%), reliability of information (68%), job displacement (68%), and effects on higher education (68%). socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

What OpenAI is really after is cheap Canadian energy and abundant water supply. That is it. It has no interest in funding the development of competing AI models.

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

"Elon Musk’s Hyperloop idea was just a ruse to kill California’s high-speed rail project." www.fresnobee.com/opinion/edit...

Same gambit, different billionaire?

"One of the world's biggest AI companies wants a deal with Canada. Is sovereignty the trade-off?" www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

ANALYSIS | Why OpenAI wants to help Canada build homegrown artificial intelligence | CBC News

OpenAI wants to help Canada build a sovereign digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, putting the country in a tough spot as it tries to distance itself from overreliance on U.S. tech comp...

www.cbc.ca

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

Here's a bit more about what Canadians think about AI from a survey (n=1500 - census balanced) we conducted earlier this year. bsky.app/profile/soci...

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

Canadians are split on GenAI’s net societal impact (39% positive, 34% negative, 27% neutral), but unite around key concerns—security and privacy (72%), reliability of information (68%), job displacement (68%), and effects on higher education (68%). socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

An overwhelming majority back regulation: 78% want companies held liable for harms caused by AI tools, with 77% supporting rules for current AI capabilities and 76% for future ones. socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

Canadians are split on GenAI’s net societal impact (39% positive, 34% negative, 27% neutral), but unite around key concerns—security and privacy (72%), reliability of information (68%), job displacement (68%), and effects on higher education (68%). socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 16d

Thanks to generative AI, "the only foolproof thing that works right now is to slow down and ask questions before sharing: If a piece of content seems shocking, divisive, or too good to be true, pause before spreading it."

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 14d

It's too bad Canada's AI minister thinks otherwise. According to him, “Data is not gold in Fort Knox, where you lock it up. But Canadians need to know the most important definition is that sensitive data is subject to Canadian law.” betakit.com/canadian-sov... #DataIsTheNewOil

Canada hopes to build a sovereign cloud to counter US dominance. It won’t be easy

The alignment on need for Canadian-controlled infrastructure has not yet been met with a plan to execute.

betakit.com

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

Sadly, by all indications, the current government will succumb to the cheap come-on and quietly silence the rhetoric of sovereignty on this issue. "Digital sovereignty" will remain a campaign promise, good for stump speeches, but it will not amount to much more than that.

1 4 11

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 8h

"Mystery visitors plunged Maxwell’s Texas prison camp into lockdown as inmates complain of preferential treatment, report says" www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Mystery meetings and lockdowns: Maxwell’s arrival at Texas prison unsettled inmates

Maxwell had a mysterious meeting in the prison’s chapel that prevented other inmates from getting their outdoor time, per the report

www.independent.co.uk

1 2 7

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

One weekend in mid-August, hundreds of inmates at a minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas, were locked down, except one: 63-year-old Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted accomplice in the sexual abuse of underage girls. She was expecting a secret visitor. www.wsj.com/us-news/ghis...

Lockdowns and a Mysterious Meeting: A Quiet Texas Prison Adapts to Life With Ghislaine Maxwell

The unexpected arrival of the Epstein associate upset the camp’s routines. Some inmates say she got favorable treatment.

www.wsj.com

1 21 32

Reposted by Social Media Lab

speck @notkaspeck.bsky.social · 11h

Just got home from a concert performance of “Considering Matthew Shepard,” by ABQ’s Coro Lux, with composer Craig Hella Johnson conducting from the piano. Gorgeous, heartrending music. PBS did a docu on it a while back: www.pbs.org/video/consid...

Austin PBS Specials | Considering Matthew Shepard

Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare create a three-part oratorio for Matthew Shepard.

www.pbs.org

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Reposted by Social Media Lab

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 11h

On this date, Matthew Shephard died 27 years ago. He was beaten, tortured, and left for dead on fence for being gay. Please keep him and his wonderful mother Judy in your thoughts. And let's all work for a world where such horrific things do not happen to anyone. ❤️🏳️‍🌈

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

Canada has a long history of being surprisingly provincial. However, relinquishing digital sovereignty without a fight represents a strategic misstep in the broader project of nation-building, as technological autonomy increasingly shapes economic security, cultural identity, & political legitimacy.

1 8 20

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

What OpenAI is really after is cheap Canadian energy and abundant water supply. That is it. It has no interest in funding the development of competing AI models.

1 11 31

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 9h

Sadly, by all indications, the current government will succumb to the cheap come-on and quietly silence the rhetoric of sovereignty on this issue. "Digital sovereignty" will remain a campaign promise, good for stump speeches, but it will not amount to much more than that.

1 4 11