Canada Letter: A.I. godfathers sound the alarm

The measures of Canada’s artificial intelligence bill won’t go into effect until 2025. For some, that’s too late. [View in browser](~/AAAAAQA~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~~)|[nytimes.com](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0SyaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~)[Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-ad-marquee) [Marquee Ad](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0SeaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MjA3NjE5JmxpPUNOREEmbT1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZwPUNOREFfMjAyMzA1MjcmdGU9MSZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) [NYTimes.com/Canada](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0S4aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vY2FuYWRhP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) May 27, 2023 Canada Needs to Hurry on A.I. Oversight, Experts Warn By [Vjosa Isai](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0S_aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vYnkvdmpvc2EtaXNhaT9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD01MCZlbWM9ZWRpdF9jbmRhXzIwMjMwNTI3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTkzNjI4Jm5sPWNhbmFkYS1sZXR0ZXImcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEzNDA1NiZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) Two of the three godfathers of A.I. are professors based in Canada. One of them, Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto, recently left his job at Google in order to speak more frankly about the risks of artificial intelligence. Geoffrey Hinton, a leading expert in artificial intelligence, photographed in 2017 at the University of Toronto.Aaron Vincent Elkaim for The New York Times The other, Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montréal, echoed the sounding of that alarm in a recent open letter urging a pause in the development of increasingly powerful A.I. systems. He’s among the several high profile names, including Elon Musk and the Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who believe [it’s time to pump the breaks](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TyaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wMy8yOS90ZWNobm9sb2d5L2FpLWFydGlmaWNpYWwtaW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlLW11c2stcmlza3MuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD01MCZlbWM9ZWRpdF9jbmRhXzIwMjMwNTI3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTkzNjI4Jm5sPWNhbmFkYS1sZXR0ZXImcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEzNDA1NiZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA), if only for six months. [Read: [‘The Godfather of A.I.’ Leaves Google and Warns of Danger Ahead](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0T0aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8wMS90ZWNobm9sb2d5L2FpLWdvb2dsZS1jaGF0Ym90LWVuZ2luZWVyLXF1aXRzLWhpbnRvbi5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~)] [Read Dan Bilefsky’s 2019 Saturday Profile of Yoshua Bengio: [He Helped Create A.I. Now, He Worries About ‘Killer Robots’](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0T3aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAxOS8wMy8yOS93b3JsZC9jYW5hZGEvYmVuZ2lvLWFydGlmaWNpYWwtaW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlLWFpLXR1cmluZy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~)] “It is because there is an unexpected acceleration — I probably would not have signed such a letter a year ago — that we need to take a step back, and that my opinion on these topics has changed,” said Prof. Bengio in a [post](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0T9aHR0cHM6Ly95b3NodWFiZW5naW8ub3JnLzIwMjMvMDQvMDUvc2xvd2luZy1kb3duLWRldmVsb3BtZW50LW9mLWFpLXN5c3RlbXMtcGFzc2luZy10aGUtdHVyaW5nLXRlc3QvP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) on his blog. “We succeeded in regulating nuclear weapons on a global scale after World War II, we can reach a similar agreement for A.I.” Canada is a far ways from signing legislation, which is expected to be in effect no earlier than 2025. There are several more months needed to settle on regulations for the bill, C-27, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, which was introduced last June. In the near term, Canadian privacy regulators are currently at work investigating an unspecified complaint into whether the chatbot ChatGPT inappropriately collects, uses or discloses the data of Canadians without the proper consent. On Thursday, the federal privacy commissioner’s office announced that its provincial counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta would be joining the investigation. [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-universal-0) ADVERTISEMENT [Ad](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0SeaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MjA3NjE2JmxpPUNOREEmbT1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZwPUNOREFfMjAyMzA1MjcmdGU9MSZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) Yoshua Bengio, the founder and scientific director of Mila, also known as the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute.Renaud Philippe for The New York Times “As regulators, we need to keep up with — and stay ahead of — fast-moving technological advances in order to protect the fundamental privacy rights of Canadians,” said Philippe Dufresne, the privacy commissioner, in a [statement](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TlaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucHJpdi5nYy5jYS9lbi9vcGMtbmV3cy9uZXdzLWFuZC1hbm5vdW5jZW1lbnRzLzIwMjMvYW5fMjMwNTI1LTIvP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~). The uptake of public A.I. tools, especially ChatGPT — short for “Generative Pretrained Transformer” — has been explosive. Analysts at the Swiss bank UBS estimated in a May report that ChatGPT, created by the San Francisco-based company OpenAI, has reached more than 200 million monthly active users in April, double the number from January, though the trend shows signs of a plateau. [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-universal-1) ADVERTISEMENT [Ad](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0SeaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MjAzNTA1JmxpPUNOREEmbT1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZwPUNOREFfMjAyMzA1MjcmdGU9MSZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) In less than six months, ChatGPT appears to have mushroomed. It has popped up on college campuses as a tool for fabricating coursework and has been restricted by universities. It’s being used to [filter through romantic prospects](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TnaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wMy8yNC9zdHlsZS9haS1jaGF0Z3B0LWFkdmljZS1yZWxhdGlvbnNoaXBzLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) on dating apps. And as my colleagues — the Times technology columnist Kevin Roose and Emma Goldberg, who covers the future of work for the Business desk — have found, these A.I. chatbots can lead to some pretty trippy conversations. [Read Kevin’s story: [A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TraHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wMi8xNi90ZWNobm9sb2d5L2JpbmctY2hhdGJvdC1taWNyb3NvZnQtY2hhdGdwdC5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~)] [Read Emma’s story: [ChatFished: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People With A.I.](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TkaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8wNy9idXNpbmVzcy9haS1jaGF0Ym90LW1lc3NhZ2luZy13b3JrLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~)] The stock market had a taste of the more frightening consequences of misused A.I. earlier this week, when prices plunged after pictures showing a building near the Pentagon apparently on fire circulated on the internet. It turned out to be an [A.I.-generated spoof](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yMy9idXNpbmVzcy9haS1waWN0dXJlLXN0b2NrLW1hcmtldC5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~). [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-universal-2) ADVERTISEMENT [Ad](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0SeaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9NzI4OTY3JmxpPUNOREEmbT1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZwPUNOREFfMjAyMzA1MjcmdGU9MSZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) While pushing for a slowdown in the development of super A.I. systems, Prof. Bengio, who also is the founder and the scientific director of Mila (also known as the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute), is also calling on the Canadian government to accelerate regulation efforts. Valerie Pisano, the president and chief executive of Mila, said there were steps that the government could immediately take — such as requiring appropriate labels to identify text, images or voices generated by A.I. — to protect the public from some of the technology’s dangers, like disinformation campaigns during elections and disruptions in the job market. [Read: [A.I.’s Threat to Jobs Prompts Question of Who Protects Workers](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TzaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yMy9idXNpbmVzcy9qb2JzLXByb3RlY3Rpb25zLWFydGlmaWNpYWwtaW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~)] “This technology is coming into our lives much, much faster than anything we’ve seen before,” Ms. Pisano told me and said regulation was lagging too far behind. “This gap is creating a disequilibrium that is really worrisome.” Ms. Pisano, along with academics, researchers and industry leaders in Canada are [asking the government](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0S-aHR0cHM6Ly9zdXBwb3J0YzI3LmNhLz9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD01MCZlbWM9ZWRpdF9jbmRhXzIwMjMwNTI3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTkzNjI4Jm5sPWNhbmFkYS1sZXR0ZXImcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEzNDA1NiZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcjdGV4dC1ibG9ja3MtM1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) to increase government oversight through Bill C-27 and to move quickly. Luke Stark, a researcher of the history and ethics of A.I. and an assistant professor at Western University in London, Ontario, told me he’s pleased to see the privacy commissioner’s investigation underway in the interim. “The question of where the material that has been used to train these large language models comes from is clearly a big issue,” Prof. Stark said. That issue, he added, “has been a little bit lost in the rush to hype up these technologies, for better and ill.” Trans Canada Danielle Smith, the leader of the United Conservative Party, during a campaign event in Calgary.Amber Bracken for The New York Times - Voters in Alberta head to the polls on Monday to elect their next premier. Ian Austen visited Calgary and traveled through the rural southern region of Alberta, speaking with Conservative Canadians who were [rethinking their choices after the party’s hard-right turn](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TsaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yNi9jYW5hZGEtYWxiZXJ0YS1lbGVjdGlvbi1jb25zZXJ2YXRpdmUtcGFydHkuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD01MCZlbWM9ZWRpdF9jbmRhXzIwMjMwNTI3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTkzNjI4Jm5sPWNhbmFkYS1sZXR0ZXImcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEzNDA1NiZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKZHDd1HFkAXH17lIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA). - Grimes, a Canadian musician and producer, spoke to Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The Times, about her new artificial intelligence tool that has [“open-sourced” her voice](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TcaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yNC9hcnRzL211c2ljL2dyaW1lcy1haS1zb25ncy5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~). - Are you an avid bird-watcher, or even a beginner? The Times’s Science desk is working on a project with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and is fielding reader submissions for it. [Learn more here.](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TnaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8xOC9zY2llbmNlL2JpcmQtd2F0Y2hpbmctY2l0aXplbi1zY2llbmNlLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) MORE IN CANADA NEWS [[Article Image] Jennilee Marigomen for The New York Times](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TraHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vaW50ZXJhY3RpdmUvMjAyMy8wNS8yNS90cmF2ZWwvdGhpbmdzLXRvLWRvLXZhbmNvdXZlci5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) [36 HOURS 36 Hours in Vancouver The coastal British Columbian city is in transition, with the gravity of its cultural life shifting eastward. By Remy Scalza](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TraHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vaW50ZXJhY3RpdmUvMjAyMy8wNS8yNS90cmF2ZWwvdGhpbmdzLXRvLWRvLXZhbmNvdXZlci5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTUwJmVtYz1lZGl0X2NuZGFfMjAyMzA1MjcmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9OTM2Mjgmbmw9Y2FuYWRhLWxldHRlciZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTM0MDU2JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpkcN3UcWQBcfXuUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) [[Article Image] Qilai Shen for The New York Times](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TzaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yMS9idXNpbmVzcy9lY29ub215L21pbmVyYWxzLWVsZWN0cmljLWNhcnMtYmF0dGVyaWVzLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) [The U.S. Needs Minerals for Electric Cars. Everyone Else Wants Them Too. The United States is entering an array of agreements to secure the critical minerals necessary for the energy transition, but it’s not clear which of the arrangements can succeed. By Ana Swanson](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRmVFndP0TzaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8wNS8yMS9idXNpbmVzcy9lY29ub215L21pbmVyYWxzLWVsZWN0cmljLWNhcnMtYmF0dGVyaWVzLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9NTAmZW1jPWVkaXRfY25kYV8yMDIzMDUyNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD05MzYyOCZubD1jYW5hZGEtbGV0dGVyJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMzQwNTYmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmRw3dRxZAFx9e5SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) Vjosa Isai is a reporter-researcher for The New York Times in Canada. Follow her on Twitter at @lavjosa. How are we doing? We’re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to [nytcanada@nytimes.com](mailto:nytcanada@nytimes.com?%20subject=Canada%20Letter%20Newsletter%20Feedback). Like this email? 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