🍁 Canada pushes principles for ethical AI data centres
🌿 The impact of pot on substance use
⚡️ 3D printing electrodes for better wind and solar energy
⛏️ Clay that can clean mining waste
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Ethical data centres? Canada unveils official data centre development principles
Data centres are now considered critical infrastructure, supporting everything from scientific research and health care to financial services and sovereign AI ambitions.
The country’s new data centre framework includes: local benefits, electricity costs, environmental impact, potential negative local impacts, and strategic Canadian value.
AI sovereignty begins with owning the infrastructure for data storage and compute, so the country is not beholden to other (more powerful) nations. The government’s new principles aim to drive ethical development and data use, and big AI tech has signed on.
Corporate signatories on Canada’s announced principles include the likes of Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Cohere, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
“No two data centre projects are alike, nor will they have the same impact. Municipal leaders need clear and complete information to make informed decisions. FCM welcomes today’s commitment by industry leaders to work closely with local governments, mitigate local impacts and ensure local benefits.” – Tim Tierney, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Weeding out the truth: The impact of cannabis legalization on substance use
A McGill team of researchers has found evidence that cannabis legalization has both positive and negative public health outcomes.
The global review of 176 studies spanning 30 years found that cannabis legalization could reduce the use of substances like alcohol and opioids, but cannabis-related emergency room visits also increased.
“We found evidence that cannabis legalization can have ripple effects on the use of other substances, sometimes in ways that may reduce harm and sometimes in ways that raise new concerns… Looking at those broader impacts helps provide a more complete picture of what these policies mean for public health.” — Sarah Windle
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
Renewing renewables: 3D-printed electrodes to better store wind and solar energy
Waterloo researchers have developed a new 3D-printed electrode that could make storing wind and solar energy both easier and safer.
Because these energy sources are “intermittent,” they require storage technology that can return the energy to the grid later. The engineering team’s design allows the battery liquid to move more efficiently, improving chemical reactions and energy release.
“With 3D printing, we can design the internal structure of an electrode in ways that are difficult to achieve using conventional manufacturing… That gives us much greater control over how the liquid moves through the battery and reaches the surfaces where the energy-storing reactions take place.” — Dr. Maxime van der Heijden
UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
Cleaner mining: Common clay traps mine waste
Researchers at USask collaborated with Canadian Light Source Industry Services to isolate ways to prevent environmental leaching from coal and metal mining.
When exposed to air and water, mining waste can release nickel into the surrounding environment, which can be toxic to plants, fish, and people. The researchers found that kaolinite, a common clay, acts like a “sponge” to “trap” the metal in wastewater.
“How could these findings be applied in the real world? Blanchard says that, in theory, a mining company that is trying to safely contain nickel could flow mine-affected water through a ‘filter’ containing clay with a specific pH.”