Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!
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Three women-led Canadian startups join Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders program
BorderlessHR, Monark and NLPatent, three women-led startups, based in Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto, respectively have joined the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Class of 2023, alongside eight other U.S.-based women-led startups.
Launched in 2020, the program seeks to provide mentorship opportunities and support for women in the tech startup ecosystem.
Specifically, participants get three months of equity-free support, mentoring from 20+ Google teams and experts, early access to Google products and tools, and more.
Since its launch, the 10-week intensive digital accelerator program has supported 36 women-led startups across North America, who have collectively raised US$73.46 million since graduating from their cohorts
Borderless offers global talent solutions for small businesses, Monark is a digital leadership development platform and NLPatent is an AI-patent search and analytics platform.
85 per cent Canadians think that generative AI is increasing their productivity
Eighty-five per cent of Canadians say that generative AI (genAI) tools have either significantly or slightly increased their productivity, a study by GetApp, a Gartner company that recommends software to small businesses, found.
Moreover, over 70 per cent of respondents think that genAI could help them save company time, improve business performance, and help their business develop innovative work. Sixty-eight per cent even think that it could help them save the company money.
Most are using it with tasks involving creativity (46 per cent), innovation (36 per cent), problem-solving (33 per cent), analyzing and summarizing data (33 per cent), performing repetitive tasks (27 per cent), research data (27 per cent) and inspiration (26 per cent).
ChatGPT is the most widely used generative AI tool, with 51 per cent of respondents using it a few times per day. DeepMind’s Alpha Code and DALL-E, respectively, are the second and third most widely used generative AI tools.
The study recommends that users be specific when posing a query to a generative AI tool to get the most relevant results. Further, users are advised to be mindful of security aspects, especially when dealing with confidential company information, and also verify the information obtained from the technology using reliable sources.
For this study, GetApp surveyed 660 Canadians in June 2023.
Competent Boards launches subscription service to keep execs compliant
Toronto-based provider of environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) training programs Competent Boards has launched new upskilling subscription plans to keep boards and executives compliant with climate and sustainability required competencies and regulations.
The service, available on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, provides access to 18 upskilling programs on leadership topics with quarterly training status reports and draft language to use in governance documents/proxy statements, as well as monthly updates and webinars.
“Management must now disclose the abilities of the board to oversee sustainability and climate risks and opportunities, or face consequences that impact their reputation and viability,” said Helle Bank Jorgensen, chief executive officer of Competent Boards. “Boards have to ensure they and management have the competence, capability, and capacity to create long-term value in the face of disruption and uncertainty. We have trained directors in over 50 countries to be ready, not just for the challenges, but also the opportunities”, she added.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Moody’s Analytics, General Electric, Export Development Canada, Azure Power and others have worked with Competent Boards to ensure they are prepared to meet sustainability competency requirements.
The subscription price starts at US$45,000 and goes up depending on added features and number of user seats selected.
IBM and USTA add generative AI commentary to US Open digital platforms
IBM and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that AI-generated spoken commentary, powered by watsonx, IBM’s AI and data platform, will appear on USOpen.org and the U.S. Open app. This aims to give fans a more insightful and engaging experience.
IBM watsonx powered AI Commentary, IBM says, will automate the production of detailed audio narration and captions to accompany U.S. Open highlight videos at unprecedented scale – for every match in the singles draw, across all seventeen courts.
To do so, the company worked with USTA to leverage foundation models within watsonx to build and train AI models in the unique language of tennis. The technology operates across a hybrid cloud infrastructure, enabled by Red Hat OpenShift.
Further, IBM introduced the IBM watsonx powered AI Draw Analysis, utilizing structured and unstructured data from IBM Power Index & Likelihood to Win to project the level of advantage or disadvantage of all players in the singles draw.
“Delivering a digital fan experience that showcases every key moment and storyline from the U.S. Open is always our top priority, and IBM’s development leadership continually enables our fans to connect with the U.S. Open in deeper ways every year,” said Brian Ryerson, senior director, Digital Strategy, USTA. “We’re particularly excited this year for fans to experience IBM’s AI commentary with watsonx for all Singles Highlights, providing deeper insights into our video highlights than ever before.
He added, “with the watsonx powered AI Draw Analysis, fans can easily visualize each player’s potential opponents and highlight their complete path to the finals, allowing greater insight into each round’s potential match ups.”
Government of Canada announces support for small modular reactor project in Saskatchewan
The Government of Canada has approved up to C$74 million in federal funding for small modular reactor (SMR) development in Saskatchewan, led by SaskPower.
This funding is aimed at supporting pre-engineering work and technical studies, environmental assessments, and regulatory studies, as well as community and Indigenous engagement.
SaskPower has selected the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 for potential deployment in Saskatchewan in the mid-2030s, subject to a decision to build that is expected in 2029.
SMRs, the government says, can play an important role in decarbonizing provincial electricity grids and heavy-emitting industries. They can also help remote communities reduce their reliance on costly and high-pollution diesel power.
This announcement advances the government’s commitment to shift to a non-emitting, affordable and reliable electricity grid across Canada by 2035.
To this end, the Government of Canada has committed over $40 billion in new federal measures to help provinces and has announced over $500 million to date in support of a variety of projects that are helping to build a clean, affordable, and reliable grid in Saskatchewan specifically.
More to explore
Cuba ransomware gang looking for unpatched Veeam installations: Report
The Cuba ransomware gang has tweaked its attack strategy to go after IT environments that haven’t patched a recently discovered vulnerability in Veeam Software’s backup solutions.
Class action against Government of Canada advances following 2020 CRA privacy breach
The Federal Court of Canada has certified the class action filed against the Government of Canada over the spate of cyber incidents that took place between March and September 2020 attacking the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts of over 45,000 Canadians.
Legacy application modernization crucial for digital success, reports Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group, a global IT research and advisory firm, has just released a research report titled Make the Case for Legacy Application Modernization, which underscores the role of ongoing legacy application modernization in achieving digital transformation success.
Former Tesla employees stole data of over 75,000 staff, company says
Over 75,000 current and former employees of car manufacturer Tesla are being notified their personal information was stolen in an insider data breach.
Study reveals Canadians aren’t aware of potential AI downsides
A study by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) shows that Canadians are diving into new AI tools with excitement but are missing out on understanding the potential downsides.
CIQ, SUSE, Oracle join forces to challenge Red Hat’s new restrictions
CIQ, SUSE and Oracle have come together to create the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA), a trade association that will provide source code compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
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