The AI North Brief

Paul Karwatsky
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15 Minutes. Every Weekday Morning. The AI Intelligence You Need. Artificial Intelligence is evolving faster than our capability to understand its eventual impact. The AI North Brief is your daily filter, cutting through the noise to deliver only the essential news and policy shifts shaping Canada and the world. Hosted by veteran news anchor and communications expert Paul Karwatsky, the show bridges the gap between the anchor desk and the cutting edge of AI governance. Currently pursuing his MS in AI Policy, Ethics, and Management at Purdue University, Paul brings a unique lens to the daily brief—combining decades of journalistic rigor with a deep, academic dive into the ethical frameworks and regulatory hurdles that will define the next decade. Stay informed. Stay ahead. Subscribe to the AI North Brief today.

  1. The Compute Clock Starts

    22H AGO

    The Compute Clock Starts

    Send a text The deadline for Canada's sovereign AI data centre proposals closed on Saturday. For the past month, the federal government accepted pitches for projects over 100 megawatts, Canadian-controlled, designed to reduce dependence on foreign compute. Brookfield estimates hyperscale data centres cost $10 million per megawatt to build, with compute infrastructure adding another $30 million per megawatt. Selected proponents will enter MOUs with the government, though no funding has been allocated yet. This episode examines what happens next and whether the gap between policy and physical infrastructure can finally close. Sources: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/enabling-large-scale-sovereign-ai-data-centres https://betakit.com/feds-call-for-proposals-to-build-large-scale-data-centres-in-canada/ https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2026/01/canada-promotes-investment-in-sovereign-large-scale-ai-data-centres https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2026/02/government-of-canada-launches-call-for-proposals-for-large-scale-sovereign-ai-data-centres https://datacenternews.ca/story/feds-seek-applications-for-sovereign-data-centres-over-100mw https://www.brookfield.com/views-news/insights/infrastructure-outlook-accelerating-growth https://www.ieso.ca/Corporate-IESO/Media/News-Releases/2024/10/Electricity-Demand-in-Ontario-to-Grow-by-75-per-cent-by-2050 https://betakit.com/microsoft-to-spend-7-5-billion-on-ai-data-centre-expansion-with-pledge-to-protect-canadas-digital-sovereignty/ https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/canadian-sovereign-ai-compute-strategy Tags AI North Brief, Canadian AI, AI Policy, Sovereign Compute, Data Centres, AI Infrastructure, ISED, Evan Solomon, Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, Budget 2025, Brookfield, Microsoft

    7 min
  2. The Sovereign Technology Alliance

    1D AGO

    The Sovereign Technology Alliance

    Send a text Description Canada and Germany signed an AI cooperation agreement at the Munich Security Conference, launching the Sovereign Technology Alliance. The deal focuses on compute infrastructure, AI research, and talent development. It explicitly names Yoshua Bengio's LawZero as a potential area for collaboration. The signing comes as the Munich conference wrapped with warnings about "wrecking-ball politics" and the fracturing of the rules-based international order. This episode examines what the declaration actually does, what it doesn't do, and how it fits into Canada's broader pivot toward middle-power partnerships. Sources: https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2026/02/canada-and-germany-sign-ai-joint-declaration-and-launch-sovereign-technology-alliance.html https://globalnews.ca/news/11668118/canada-signs-ai-declaration-germany/ https://lawzero.org/en/news/yoshua-bengio-launches-lawzero-new-nonprofit-advancing-safe-design-ai https://time.com/7290554/yoshua-bengio-launches-lawzero-for-safer-ai/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/munich-security-trump-carney-9.7077801 https://securityconference.org/en/publications/munich-security-report/2026/ https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/02/11/how-ai-is-affecting-canadas-job-market/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/carney-cancels-trip-to-europe-following-bc-school-shooting/ Tags AI North Brief, Canadian AI, AI Policy, Canada Germany, Sovereign Technology Alliance, Munich Security Conference, Evan Solomon, LawZero, Yoshua Bengio, AI Safety, Sovereign Compute, Mark Carney Chapter Markers 00:00 Intro 00:45 What the Declaration Actually Does 02:30 The Context That Matters 04:00 What It Does Not Do 05:30 The Bigger Picture

    6 min
  3. Technofascism

    FEB 9

    Technofascism

    Send us a text Episode Description A new paper just dropped in AI & Society with a provocative title: "Technofascism: AI, Big Tech, and the New Authoritarianism." Philosopher Mark Coeckelbergh argues that AI isn't politically neutral. The way it's being deployed mirrors features of historical fascism, just through quieter mechanisms: data extraction, algorithmic governance, behavioral nudging, platform monopolization. This episode breaks down the argument, from Hannah Arendt's "thoughtless bureaucrat" to why tech oligarchs sat front row at Trump's inauguration. Yesterday was the immediate threat. Today is the structural analysis. Episode Tags technofascism, AI, Big Tech, authoritarianism, fascism, Mark Coeckelbergh, Hannah Arendt, algorithmic governance, surveillance, democracy, Trump, Silicon Valley, corporate power Content Rating Clean Episode Type Full Runtime ~6 minutes Timecodes 0:00 – The Paper 1:00 – The Quiet Mechanisms 2:00 – The Thoughtless Bureaucrat 3:00 – The Corporatism Parallel 4:00 – The Loud Version 5:15 – Resistance

    9 min
  4. When Seeing Stops Being Believing

    FEB 6

    When Seeing Stops Being Believing

    Send us a text  Canadian security officials testified this week that AI deepfakes will "very likely" target the next federal election. Their solution? "Hopefully AI will help us detect AI. Hopefully." That's a lot of hope doing a lot of heavy lifting. This episode looks at the global evidence—Slovakia, India, Taiwan, Germany—and a concept called the "liar's dividend" that may be more dangerous than the fakes themselves. Then we project forward to 2028 and ask what happens when leaders who've already tried to overturn elections get access to tools that can fabricate any reality.  Episode Tags deepfakes, elections, democracy, AI, misinformation, disinformation, Canada, CSE, liar's dividend, Trump, 2028, Slovakia, India, authoritarianism 0:00 – The Warning 1:30 – The Global Evidence 3:30 – The Liar's Dividend 5:15 – The 2028 Problem 6:45 – Canada's Thin Defenses

    8 min
  5. Selling AI Abroad While the Home Front Wavers

    FEB 4

    Selling AI Abroad While the Home Front Wavers

    Send us a text Canada is sending an AI delegation to the World Governments Summit in Dubai this week—over 200 companies applied to pitch Canadian AI solutions to 35 heads of state and 6,000 participants. The mission follows an October MOU between Minister Evan Solomon and the UAE, with delegates presenting "responsible, human-centred AI" for government decision-making, health services, and public safety. But new data from IBM suggests the home front isn't as confident. While 86% of Canadian executives already use agentic AI and 68% expect AI agents to act independently by year's end, only 36% of Canadian workers are willing to be managed by AI—below the global average of 48%. And 82% of consumers say they'd trust a brand less if it concealed AI use. This episode examines the gap between Canada's international AI brand and domestic reality: executives racing to deploy while workers pump the brakes on trust, governance frameworks that remain aspirational, and a talent shortage that shows no signs of easing. Canada is marketing AI sovereignty abroad while struggling to build the foundation at home. Sources: IBM Institute for Business Value "Five Trends for 2026" report; SCALE AI World Governments Summit announcement; Episode 15 research on Ontario AI principles and implementation challenges. Tags/Keywords Canada AI policyAI governanceIBM AI reportWorld Governments Summit DubaiSCALE AIAI trustAgentic AIAI sovereigntyEvan SolomonUAE Canada AICanadian tech policyAI workforceAI deployment Chapter Markers / Timecodes TimeChapter00:00 | Introduction — Canada's AI delegation to Dubai 00:45 | IBM report: Two stories in one 01:30 | Executives all in: 86% using agentic AI 02:15 | Workers pump the brakes: Only 36% willing to be managed by AI 03:00 | The trust number: 82% would trust brands less 03:30 | What Canada is selling in Dubai 04:30 | The gap: International brand vs domestic reality 05:30 | 92% want AI sovereignty — but what does that require? 06:15 | Global context: Everyone is struggling 07:00 | The pressure to deploy vs pressure to govern 07:30 | Closing — You can't export your way out of a trust problem

    7 min
  6. The Profit Paradox: Why AI Ethics Principles Fail the Reality Test

    FEB 2

    The Profit Paradox: Why AI Ethics Principles Fail the Reality Test

    Send us a text Will a company ever voluntarily kill a machine that’s making them money? Ontario recently released joint principles for responsible AI use, including a bold requirement: organizations must be ready to "decommission" any AI system producing unsafe or discriminatory outputs. It sounds good on paper, but in the high-stakes world of corporate efficiency, it ignores a fundamental truth that profitable systems are rarely shut down for harms that are invisible to the naked eye. In this episode, we strip away the "AI ethics" buzzwords to look at the massive infrastructure gap standing between high-minded principles and real-world enforcement. We explore why the current roadmap for AI governance is currently built on a foundation of "wishes" rather than workable systems. In this episode, we break down: The Decommissioning Delusion: Why the assumption that companies will prioritize fairness over profit is a fundamental misunderstanding of corporate incentives.The Implementation Gap: How a lack of standardized testing and "objective evidence" makes compliance nearly impossible for most Canadian businesses.Invisible Victims: The reality of statistical discrimination, why individual applicants often never know they’ve been harmed by an algorithm.The Talent Crisis: The staggering shortage of AI governance professionals and why the few who exist are priced out of reach for most organizations.Principles vs. Infrastructure: Why articulating what "responsible AI" looks like is the easy part, and why no country has actually built the enforcement mechanisms to back it up.Is AI governance currently just a collection of noble intentions? We’re diving into the social alignment problem and what it actually takes to make AI serve everyone. AI Ethics, AI Governance, Ontario Tech Policy, Algorithmic Bias, Responsible AI, AI Regulation Canada, Tech Accountability, Machine Learning Bias, Corporate Ethics, AI Implementation.

    11 min
  7. The Microsoft Problem

    JAN 29

    The Microsoft Problem

    Send us a text Episode Description Microsoft beat on every metric and the stock dropped six percent. What the earnings call revealed about AI infrastructure spending, OpenAI concentration risk, and why Canada's sovereign compute push faces a $72 billion scale gap. Chapter Markers / Timecodes 00:00 – Intro 00:25 – The Earnings 01:45 – The Spending Problem 03:30 – The OpenAI Problem 05:00 – What This Means for Canada 06:15 – The Scale Gap 07:00 – Outro Episode Tags Microsoft, Azure, OpenAI, AI infrastructure, sovereign compute, Canada AI, data centres, Bell Canada, capex, cloud computing, earnings Content Rating Clean Episode Type Full Runtime ~7 minutes

    9 min
  8. Delaware or Bust

    JAN 29

    Delaware or Bust

    Send us a text Y Combinator has quietly removed Canada from its list of countries where it invests. Canadian startups now need to incorporate in the U.S., Cayman Islands, or Singapore to join the world's most prestigious accelerator. YC president Garry Tan confirmed the change, saying Canadian founders should "just convert to Delaware C Corp" if they want to raise money. But on the same day, Toronto-based Waabi announced what it claims is the largest funding round in Canadian tech history: $750 million USD, with Uber committing up to another $250 million. Two stories, two different answers to the question of whether you need to leave Canada to build something big. Chapter Markers / Timecodes 00:00 – Intro  00:30 – Y Combinator Drops Canada  03:15 – Waabi Raises $750 Million USD  05:45 – Outro References Y Combinator: BetaKit, "Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in," January 26, 2026The Logic, "Y Combinator is no longer investing in Canadian startups," January 26, 2026Garry Tan X posts, January 27, 2026Waabi: BetaKit, "Waabi claims largest-ever Canadian tech fundraise as it hauls in $750-million USD Series C," January 28, 2026The Globe and Mail, December 2025 Tags Y Combinator, YC, Garry Tan, Canadian startups, Delaware, incorporation, brain drain, Waabi, Raquel Urtasun, autonomous vehicles, robotaxi, Uber, Series C, physical AI, venture capital

    6 min
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About

15 Minutes. Every Weekday Morning. The AI Intelligence You Need. Artificial Intelligence is evolving faster than our capability to understand its eventual impact. The AI North Brief is your daily filter, cutting through the noise to deliver only the essential news and policy shifts shaping Canada and the world. Hosted by veteran news anchor and communications expert Paul Karwatsky, the show bridges the gap between the anchor desk and the cutting edge of AI governance. Currently pursuing his MS in AI Policy, Ethics, and Management at Purdue University, Paul brings a unique lens to the daily brief—combining decades of journalistic rigor with a deep, academic dive into the ethical frameworks and regulatory hurdles that will define the next decade. Stay informed. Stay ahead. Subscribe to the AI North Brief today.

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  • Creator
    Paul Karwatsky
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The AI North Brief
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    The AI North Brief