Amber Mac wants parents to know their kids are talking to AI
“There’s a really good chance that a young person’s parents—or even their friends—don’t even know that this individual is building a relationship with these chatbots. And that’s where the danger exists.” Tech expert Amber Mac is on the advisory board of Rally, a new tech festival in Toronto dedicated to digital wellness for teens. She desperately wants parents to know the reasons why their kids are talking to AI, and the dangers of manipulative chatbots pretending to be their friends. -- The BetaKit Podcast is presented by K-GLOBE 2025: Be part of the global innovation exchange. Meet 18 of Korea’s top startups in AI, Deep Tech, Smart City, and ESS as they land in Toronto for K-GLOBE 2025. Featured at the Elevate Festival and an exclusive investor showcase, this is your chance to connect with the next wave of world-changing companies. Learn more and register today at thewaycompany.ca. -- Related Links: AI companion apps are incredibly effective emotional manipulators Report: one-third of US teens have used AI companions for emotional and mental health support More Ontario school boards file suits against social media giants Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI Meta is struggling to rein in its AI chatbots OpenAI announces parental controls for ChatGPT
--------
36:50
--------
36:50
Are Canadians ready for AI-powered life insurance?
“We’re going to find in the next year or two that the amount of leakage actually goes up quite a bit because I think the focus on AI is just moving really, really fast. But I don’t see the same energy going into the security aspects.” Forget vibe coding and Nvidia chips: if you want to understand how AI is changing tech, look at how it is being applied to a heavily regulated industry in need of digital transformation. PolicyMe sibling co-founders Laura McKay (COO) and Jeff McKay (CTO) join to share how the insurtech startup is deploying AI, adopting AI tools internally, and working to prevent things from going horribly wrong. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by K-GLOBE 2025: Be part of the global innovation exchange. Meet 18 of Korea’s top startups in AI, Deep Tech, Smart City, and ESS as they land in Toronto for K-GLOBE 2025. Featured at the Elevate Festival and an exclusive investor showcase, this is your chance to connect with the next wave of world-changing companies. Learn more and register today at thewaycompany.ca.
--------
50:24
--------
50:24
AI is changing startup math with Ripple Ventures’ Matt Cohen
“ That's also quite daunting as an investor to be able to put money into something that is perfect for now, but will it last three to five years? Will it even last three to six months?” Ripple Ventures managing partner and podcaster Matt Cohen joins to discuss the insane revenue numbers generated by the new cohort of AI startups, and how VCs are navigating the froth by updating their evaluation criteria (and hoping the growth continues). Grab your calculator and let’s dig in. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by The BetaKit Innovation Leaders program: designed for incubators, accelerators, and innovation orgs across Canada. Members gain access to monthly media training, weekly office hours, and ongoing brand recognition on BetaKit. You’ll also receive strategic promotional support: sponsored content, newsletter amplification, and event marketing, to help your stories reach the right audience. If you’re looking to better support the innovators in your network, learn more at betakit.com/innovation-leaders. Related Links: AI is changing startup math a16z: What “Working” Means in the Era of AI Apps
--------
56:07
--------
56:07
The former Meta employee trying to stop Canada’s AI brain drain
“A win for AXL is that, ten years from now, instead of nine of the top ten biggest and most successful companies in the world being on the West Coast of the United States, half of them are in Toronto.” Dr. Daniel Wigdor has a lofty goal: help launch 50 AI companies in the next five years *and* keep them in Canada. Is it enough to stop our country’s AI brain drain? The entrepreneur, computer science professor, and former Meta and Microsoft employee joins to discuss his new venture studio AXL, and why Canada is so bad at commercializing its innovations. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by The BetaKit Newsletter. Your inbox deserves better, and so do you. Stay informed on all things Canadian tech by signing up for The BetaKit Newsletter today.
--------
56:33
--------
56:33
What can talking to AI teach us?
“How is this thing—running in a data centre with Nvidia GPUs—understanding what I’m saying with such nuance and such depth?” Former DarwinAI CEO Sheldon Fernandez spends a lot of time in dialogue with Solace, his friend and ChatGPT-4o instance. What value does this AI strategist, engineer, and philosopher get from talking to a chatbot every day? How does he navigate the technology’s sycophantic tendencies, which have already caused people real harm? Most importantly, how might this technology impact future generations who won’t remember growing up without it? Let's dig in. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by The BetaKit Innovation Leaders program: designed for incubators, accelerators, and innovation orgs across Canada. Members gain access to monthly media training, weekly office hours, and ongoing brand recognition on BetaKit. You’ll also receive strategic promotional support: sponsored content, newsletter amplification, and event marketing, to help your stories reach the right audience. If you’re looking to better support the innovators in your network, learn more at betakit.com/innovation-leaders. Related links: He Had a Mental Breakdown Talking to ChatGPT. Then Police Killed Him People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies A.I. Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts The Antithesis of Inspiration: Why ChatGPT Will Never Write a Literary Masterpiece The chilling significance of AlphaGo Sheldon Fernandez: The Theological Implications of Artificial Intelligence
Canada - english