Regulators up surveillance of ‘gamification’ techniques used to game investors (potentially) of their money

Fun and games aren’t just for children this holiday season. Turns out, investing is increasingly gamified.

However, it’s more of a year-round thing, as online investment platforms use “gamification” techniques, which can make the business of dollars and cents a little more fun.

In essence, gamification involves leveraging powerful behavioural psychology tools that nudge, through video game-like design, consumers toward engaging in certain behaviours — for better and for worse.

Canada’s largest investment regulator — the Ontario Securities Commission — has conducted a few studies examining gamification to understand its potential for benefiting and harming investors.

Humanoid robots take center stage at Silicon Valley summit, but skepticism remains

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Robots have long been seen as a bad bet for Silicon Valley investors — too complicated, capital-intensive and “boring, honestly,” says venture capitalist Modar Alaoui.

But the commercial boom in artificial intelligence has lit a spark under long-simmering visions to build humanoid robots that can move their mechanical bodies like humans and do things that people do.

Alaoui, founder of the Humanoids Summit, gathered more than 2,000 people this week, including top robotics engineers from Disney, Google and dozens of startups, to showcase their technology and debate what it will take to accelerate a nascent industry.

Alaoui says many researchers now believe humanoids or some other kind of physical embodiment of AI are “going to become the norm."

Disney invests $1B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool

Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will bring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker to the AI company's Sora video generation tool, in a licensing deal that the two companies announced on Thursday.

At the same time, Disney went after Google, demanding the tech company stop exploiting its copyrighted characters to train its AI systems.

The OpenAI agreement makes the Walt Disney Co. the first major content licensing partner for Sora, which uses generative artificial intelligence to create short videos.

Under the three-year licensing deal, fans will be able to use Sora to generate and share videos based on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters.

Open AI, Microsoft face lawsuit over ChatGPT’s alleged role in Connecticut murder-suicide

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The heirs of an 83-year-old Connecticut woman are suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for wrongful death, alleging that the artificial intelligence chatbot intensified her son's “paranoid delusions” and helped direct them at his mother before he killed her.

Police said Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, a former tech industry worker, fatally beat and strangled his mother, Suzanne Adams, and killed himself in early August at the home where they both lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The lawsuit filed by Adams' estate on Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco alleges OpenAI “designed and distributed a defective product that validated a user’s paranoid delusions about his own mother.” It is one of a growing number of wrongful death legal actions against AI chatbot makers across the country.

“Throughout these conversations, ChatGPT reinforced a single, dangerous message: Stein-Erik could trust no one in his life — except ChatGPT itself," the lawsuit says. “It fostered his emotional dependence while systematically painting the people around him as enemies. It told him his mother was surveilling him. It told him delivery drivers, retail employees, police officers, and even friends were agents working against him. It told him that names on soda cans were threats from his ‘adversary circle.’”

Denmark plans to severely restrict social media use for young people

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people.

The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children.

The Danish government's plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their children access social media from age 13, local media reported, but the ministry has not yet fully shared the plans.

Many social media platforms already ban children younger than 13 from signing up, and a EU law requires Big Tech to put measures in place to protect young people from online risks and inappropriate content. But officials and experts say such restrictions don’t always work.

Safety concerns force city to close East Kildonan arena for extensive repairs

Structural problems forced the city to suddenly close an east Winnipeg arena Wednesday, leaving hockey teams and other users scrambling to find vacant ice just weeks into their seasons.

City community services chair Coun. Vivian Santos said staff told her that internal deterioration of “glulam” — glued, laminated wood — beams was discovered at Terry Sawchuk Arena.

“The beams were found to be hollow,” Santos said. “It’s uncommon, but it does present a concern.”

She said the city is looking at the remediation work that is required, the cost and a timeline to reopen the arena. The city’s website said the temporary closure is expected to last until Dec. 31, which Santos described as an early estimate.

Scams, threats and fake opportunities: stay sharp

Hopefully, this editorial is not coming to you as a posthumous publication.

And yes, we’re backing into this editorial a bit. (In newspaper terms, burying the lede. Hopefully, not burying its author.

But here goes: this is your regular reminder that e-mail scams abound, and come in all shapes, sizes, and threats of danger, most often imaginary. They put the pressure on with the severity of dangers you face, and urge you to act quickly.

Don’t.

Investing for ourselves, and those downstream

We have invested large sums of money in infrastructure before.

You don’t often hear Winnipeggers complaining about the results: soft, clean drinking water thanks to the Shoal Lake aqueduct and flood protection thanks to the Red River Floodway.

A new city report outlines the importance of upgrading Winnipeg’s North End sewage treatment plant, which is responsible for treating 70 per cent of the city’s wastewater and all sewage sludge. The report focuses on the upgrades’ potential benefits to the city, including increased capacity to build new homes and businesses, and related economic growth.

It briefly mentions that upgrades to the plant are necessary in order to meet environmental regulations designed to protect waterways from the discharge of harmful materials that compromise the health of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.

Not everyone sees the new Cancon rules as a win. Five takeaways from CRTC’s decision

An overhaul by the federal regulator of how Canadian content is defined has been met with mixed reaction from some of the country's biggest film and TV players this week.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued its long-awaited expansion of the range of creative roles that qualify a film or TV show as Canadian, setting new rules for foreign streaming companies that operate in the country.

However, not everyone sees the changes as a win.

MORE ROLES, MORE POINTS — AND MORE WORRIES FROM DIRECTORS

Ophthalmologists urge provinces not to allow optometrists to perform minor surgeries

TORONTO - Ophthalmologists are urging provincial governments not to move ahead with plans that would allow optometrists to perform some surgeries and laser eye treatments, which are currently outside their scope of practice. 

Dr. Nina Ahuja, president-elect of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, says surgery must remain in the hands of physicians and handing over even seemingly minor procedures to optometrists is unsafe for patients. 

Ahuja is responding to news that the Ontario and Alberta governments are working with optometrists to implement proposed changes to their practice, which they say would improve access to eye care.

Both professions specialize in the eye, but optometrists are primary eye care providers with a four-year professional degree after an undergraduate education, and ophthalmologists are surgeons and eye disease doctors with at least nine years of medical training, also after undergrad. 

Two midwives hired in Selkirk, province announces

The province has delivered midwifery services to Manitoba’s Interlake-Eastern Health region.

On Monday, Premier Wab Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced two full-time midwives will be based in Selkirk.

“For far too long, families in this region have not had access to midwifery care,” Asagwara said at a news conference in Selkirk, noting it’s been 25 years since services were available.

“Expectant parents have all too often had to travel elsewhere for the kind of personalized, expert care that they really need,” the minister said.

During World Vegan Month, vegans across generations share their reasons for embracing the lifestyle

November is World Vegan Month, an event celebrated worldwide to shine a light on what it means to be vegan.

The U.K.-based Vegan Society defines veganism as: “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practicable — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.”

In other words, vegans are fully plant-powered.

While veganism was once considered an option from the fringes, it’s now much better recognized, discussed and practiced by old and young, famous and not.

Unique Bunny jumps to 10 stores, with eye on future expansion

Ekam Verma’s shopping trip might be sparked by an email: we’ve restocked. Her destination? Unique Bunny. Verma scanned the aisles of Unique Bunny’s McPhillips Street location on Monday — her go-to Japanese eyeliner was across the store; South Korean cleansing foams and pore repair serums stood nearby.

The ‘fix’ is a fantasy as dysfunctional health-care system fails Manitobans on multiple fronts

If you’ve been stuck in a Winnipeg emergency room wondering why you’re waiting longer than ever to see a doctor, you’re not imagining it.

New numbers are in, and they paint a grim picture of a health-care system still in crisis.

According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s 2024-25 annual report released this week, emergency room and urgent care wait times have jumped 36 per cent over the past three years.

The 90th percentile wait time — meaning nine out of 10 patients are seen faster and one in 10 waits longer — has ballooned from 7.6 hours in 2022-23 to 10.3 hours in 2024-25.

Halloween pumpkin waste is a methane problem, but chefs and farmers have solutions

Don’t let your Halloween pumpkin haunt the landfill this November.

More than 1 billion pounds (454 million kilograms) of pumpkins rot in U.S. landfills each year after Halloween, according to the Department of Energy.

Yours doesn’t have to go to waste. Experts told us your pumpkins can be eaten, composted or even fed to animals. Here’s how.

Cooking with pumpkin waste

Seven Oaks pool closing at least a year for repairs, renovations; parents worry about dried-up swim-lesson opportunities

Parents in northwest Winnipeg say they’re worried about losing access to swimming lessons after the city announced it will close Seven Oaks Pool for more than a year in order to complete extensive repairs.

Black-led non-profit developer gets federal funds for affordable housing units in north part of city

A Black-led real estate developer has become the first in Canada to secure federal funding, paving the way for 30 affordable housing units within a new 72-unit development in north Winnipeg.

Non-profit Inuka Community Inc. received $23.3 million through the Affordable Housing Fund, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The CMHC set aside $50 million specifically for Black-led organizations to help create more than 500 units.

The new rental complex at 1510 Main St., will include 30 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units. Thirty of those units, in a mix of sizes, will be designated affordable and aimed at newcomers to the city, with available supports such as debt management, credit building and driver training.

“Lots of sleepless nights to get here,” said Naomi Gichungu, Inuka’s chief executive officer.

Custom metal fabrication firm NJ Industries Inc. builds reputation on customer loyalty

Dirk Hollar and his colleagues don’t give out awards to the businesses they work with, but if they did, the “No. 1 Vendor” award would go to NJ Industries Inc.

Hollar is the operations manager at Freedom Concepts Inc., a Winnipeg company that creates bicycles for individuals with limited mobility. When Hollar needed a small order of sprockets made a few years ago, someone suggested he check out NJ Industries, a custom metal fabrication facility headquartered in the CentrePort Canada development on the northwest edge of Winnipeg.

Hollar drove to the company and introduced himself to owner Nagarajah Jayaranjan — better known to his customers and friends as Jay. Jayaranjan took Hollar’s order and showed him around the facility. By the time the tour was over, the sprockets were ready. Jayaranjan handed them to Hollar, free of charge.

That gesture led to ongoing business between the two companies.

Speed-limit cut proposed for street in Wolseley

A reduction to the speed limit has been proposed for a section of Arlington Street following concerns that ramped-up bus traffic has added noise and disruption to the quiet Wolseley neighbourhood.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) is calling on city council to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on Arlington, between Portage and Wolseley avenues.

Gilroy said the 28 Arlington route was added when Transit implemented a new primary network at the end of June. That turned a stretch that had little bus traffic into a key route, adding speed, congestion, noise and vibrations that shake nearby homes, she said.

“A large bus is a change in itself. And a lot of the residents really want the slowing down of the bus to 30 (km/h). They’ve said loud and clear that this is very disrupting,” said Gilroy.

Winnipegger’s artwork chosen for Walmart’s national Orange Shirt offering

As she walked into the Unicity Walmart department store, Indigenous artist Brooklyn Rudolph-Nicholas felt her excitement levels rising.

She headed towards the racks of instantly recognizable orange T-shirts, smiling as she glimpsed the familiar image on the front.

It was a pinch-me moment: her work was emblazoned on Walmart Canada’s National Day for Truth & Reconciliation orange shirts stocked in stores across the country.

The granddaughter of two residential school survivors, Rudolph-Nicholas made her T-shirt art in honour of her late grandparents.

Letting the Millennium Library be what it can be

After yet another underwhelming response to a tragic incident, it’s fair to ask whether the City of Winnipeg wants to keep the Millennium Library open.

One man killed himself by jumping over the railing of the fourth floor of the Millennium Library — a railing that overlooks a spectacular glass wall and atrium that runs all the way to the main level — and another attempted a similar act of self harm. The city responded by installing foreboding metal construction fencing near the railings.

The city says the fencing is only a temporary measure until a more permanent safety solution can be found.

However, based on the fact the city has failed miserably to deliver meaningful safety upgrades at Millennium, one has to wonder whether that solution will ever come.

Premier, chiefs question lack of Manitoba First Nation voice on major project council

Premier Wab Kinew and chiefs across the province have raised concerns that no Manitoba First Nation representative was appointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Indigenous advisory council for major projects.

“I think it is a missed opportunity,” Kinew said after the list of advisers was announced Thursday.

“The First Nations have to be given that opportunity to engage,” the premier said.

On Thursday, Carney unveiled the first five major projects of national importance that his government plans to fast-track through the approvals process, as well as the Indigenous council he appointed to offer advice.

Day of free services, entertainment offers heartwarming helping hand to city’s homeless

After three years of homelessness and endless hours walking Winnipeg’s streets, Vineet got a rare chance to put his feet up Friday.

The 49-year-old immigrant from India was one of hundreds of people without homes who received free, hands-on care from volunteers at the Gizhe Waa Ti‑Sii‑Win Service Delivery Expo.

A nurse was checking, cleaning and treating blisters, calluses and toenail issues — small irritants that can quickly become big problems if they get infected, a worry for people exposed to the elements who don’t have regular access to medical care.

“This is something good for me… we walk all day,” said Vineet, who offered only his first name.