I’ve always had a vague distrust of the tech industry, but it wasn’t until Mary Campbell turned me onto the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, in which Paris Marx interviews academics, journalists, and the otherwise tech-skeptic, that my distrust began to be more informed and I could begin to speak more directly about it.
Among many other fascinating guests, in 2022 Marx first interviewed Ed Zitron, about cryptocurrency and Elon Musk, and so I started following Zitron on his Where’s Your Ed At newsletter, and then his [Better Offline](https://link…
I’ve always had a vague distrust of the tech industry, but it wasn’t until Mary Campbell turned me onto the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, in which Paris Marx interviews academics, journalists, and the otherwise tech-skeptic, that my distrust began to be more informed and I could begin to speak more directly about it.
Among many other fascinating guests, in 2022 Marx first interviewed Ed Zitron, about cryptocurrency and Elon Musk, and so I started following Zitron on his Where’s Your Ed At newsletter, and then his Better Offline podcast, which he started in 2024.
Soon after, Zitron started looking specifically at AI, and he has become perhaps the most vocal critic of the industry. Zitron did the work that more acclaimed tech journalists avoided: he looked at the financials of the big AI companies, OpenAI foremost, and truly engaged with their big claims. He found both lacking.
While Zitron has a large personality and a big voice, he also meticulously documents his analyses; you don’t have to take his word for it, you can check for yourself.
Zitron was my entryway into critiquing the AI industry, and now I feel somewhat conversant with a wide range of work from academics and journalists who do this work; you’ll hear directly from some of them this month, as the Examiner dives into all things AI.
But I thought I’d start with interviewing Zitron himself, and yesterday he very graciously gave me the time for a wide-ranging conversation.
This was the first time I’ve recorded an interview on Zoom. I’m in the middle of repainting and redecorating my home office, so I angled the camera to avoid the mess, and then I stumbled through setting up the Zoom meeting. I started the interview and stumbled again with the pronunciation of Zitron’s name, even though I’ve said it a thousand times before correctly. After that inauspicious start, however, I think the conversation went pretty well. Here it is:
This month’s deep dive into artificial intelligence is the anchor for the Halifax Examiner’s November subscription drive.
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NOTICED
Chris d’Entremont crosses the floor
MP Chris d’Entremont. Credit: Liberal Party of Canada
MP Chris d’Entremont, representing the Nova Scotia riding of Acadie-Annapolis, issued this statement yesterday:
“Earlier this afternoon, upon the presentation of the 2025 Budget, I informed the Leader of the Opposition, the Opposition House Leader, and the Speaker of the House of Commons that I had resigned from the Conservative caucus.
“After serious consideration and thoughtful conversations with constituents and my family, I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country — and a better path forward for Acadie-Annapolis.
“Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering that path with a new Budget that hits the priorities I have heard most in my riding, to build strong community infrastructure and grow a stronger economy.
“That is why I am joining the Government caucus.
“After five years of serving in opposition, the people of Acadie-Annapolis and all Canadians know that the moment we face today needs all of us to lead — not with complaint, but with confidence in a strong future.
“This is an important moment for the country to come together, and I am looking forward to working with the Prime Minister to build the strong economic future that all our communities deserve.”
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THE LATEST FROM THE HALIFAX EXAMINER:
**1. **Opponents push back on West Mabou golf project
A sign created by the group Save West Mabou Beach Provincial Park and shared on social media. Credit: Save West Mabou Beach Provincial Park/Facebook
Jennifer Henderson reports:
Volunteers behind the group Save West Mabou Beach Provincial Park have ordered 100 signs that parody advertising used by realtors.
But in this case, Premier Tim Houston is portrayed as the smiling real estate agent and the property is a public park in Cape Breton. The sign can be seen on the group’s Facebook page here.
American investors want to lease the property to build their third golf course in the area. Accompanying the sign is this tongue-in-cheek message on the group’s page:
Hey Tim, here are the signs you requested. Apologies, we know you needed them earlier for West Mabou Beach Provincial Park. Our bad. But they’re good for the rest of the province!
The reference to needing signs “earlier” is a reminder that in 2023, the Houston government rejected a proposal from the same Cabot Holdings group after significant opposition was raised by local communities that wanted the land to remain protected under existing legislation.
As reported here, in 2022 the Cabot group, which operates two other golf courses on the Island, asked the province if it could lease about one-third of the 215-hectare West Mabou Beach Provincial Park to construct an 18-hole golf course.
Click or tap here to read “Opponents push back on West Mabou golf project.”
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2. Nova Scotia families on income assistance really struggling, committee hears
Credit: kazuend/Unsplash
Jennifer Henderson reports:
More than 38,000 Nova Scotians receive income assistance, and on Tuesday members of the legislature’s community services committee were told the high cost of food, rent, and child care affects them disproportionately.
The committee’s agenda focused on the topic “supporting healthy families.”
One of the witnesses was Sarah MacMaster, the executive director of Maggie’s Place, a family resource centre that offers programs, support, and in-home visits to parents in Colchester and Cumberland counties. The social services agency receives funding from the province, and often connects with mothers through its prenatal and postnatal programs.
There are family resource centres in most sizeable Nova Scotia towns that also connect parents to other agencies that will assist with finding food, clothing, and housing. But MacMaster said affordability issues are making it harder for Maggie’s Place to provide its usual services.
“It’s really difficult to talk to a parent about how to create a bedtime routine or school readiness when they don’t know where their next meal is going to come from or how they are going to pay the rent,” MacMaster said.
Click or tap here to read “Nova Scotia families on income assistance really struggling, committee hears.”
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Government
City
Wednesday
Point Pleasant Park Advisory Committee (Wednesday, 4:30pm, online) — agenda
Accessibility Advisory Committee – Town Hall (Wednesday, 6:30pm, Halifax Central Library and online) — agenda
Thursday
Women and Gender Equity Advisory Committee (Thursday, 4:30pm, online) — agenda
Harbour East-Marine Drive Community Council (Thursday, 6pm, HEMDCC Meeting Space and online) — agenda
Province
Public Accounts (Wednesday, 9am, One government Place and online) — 2025 Report of the Auditor General – Planning and Acquiring Nursing Home Beds; with a representative from the Department of Seniors and Long-term Care
On campus
Dalhousie
Wednesday
Dal Bookstore 60th Birthday Party (Wednesday, 11am, Student Union Building) — details
Noon Hour Free Live Music Series: Voice (Wednesday, 11:45am, First Baptist Church, Halifax) — details
Noon Hour Free Live Music Series: Guitar (Wednesday, 11:45am, Room 406, Dal Arts Centre) — details
Thursday
Group Read – Reclaiming Power + Place: The Final Report (Thursday, 12pm, Indigenous Student Centre and online) — details
Physiology and Biophysics Seminar Series (Thursday, 1pm, Room 3H-01, Tupper Building) — Arun Anantharam from the University of Toledo, Ohio, will present “Novel insights on Ca2+ sensing and signaling in dense core vesicle fusion”
Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Innovation, Risks, and Realities (Thursday, 7pm, Peggy Corkum Music Room, Halifax) — public panel discussion with guest speaker Joshua Rosenblat from the University of Toronto
Environmental/Health Effects of Uranium Mining (Thursday, 7:15pm, Potter Auditorium, Rowe Building and online) — ESS Lecture Series, featuring Chief Tamara Young, Nancy Covington, Laurette Geldenhuys, and Tynette Deveaux
King’s
Wednesday
Can We Talk? The Uneasy Relationship between Journalism and Government (Wednesday, 7pm, Alumni Hall) — panel discussion with Laura Lee Langley, Alex Marland, and Jean Laroche
Thursday
Interested in our MFA? (Thursday, 5pm, Bus Stop Theatre) — workshop and open house
Mount Saint Vincent
Current exhibitions (Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm, MSVU Art Gallery) — details
NSCAD
Wednesday
Artist’s talk (Wednesday, 12pm, Anna Leonowens Gallery ) — Luke C Abell
Thursday
Artist’s talk + cloudwatch (Thursday, 11:30am, Anna Leonowens Gallery 2A) — Julien Jefferson
Literary Events
Wednesday
No events
Thursday
dART speak (Thursday, 7pm, East Dartmouth Community Centre) — details
In the harbour
Halifax 05:45: One Falcon, container ship, sails from Pier 41 for Singapore 06:30: Zim Atlantic, container ship, sails from Fairview Cove for New York 07:15: Nolhan Ava, ro-ro cargo, arrives at Pier 41 from Saint-Pierre 07:45: CMA CGM Libra, container ship, arrives at Pier 41 from Colombo, Sri Lanka 08:30: Oceanex Sanderling, ro-ro container, arrives at Autoport from St. John’s 15:00: Annie B, container ship, arrives at Fairview Cove from New York 15:30: Seabourn Sojourn, cruise ship, sails from Pier 20 for New York 16:30: Oceanex Sanderling moves to Fairview Cove 20:00: Bravenes, offshore construction vessel, arrives at Sheet Harbour from Saint John
Cape Breton 10:00: Phoenix Admiral, oil tanker, arrives at EverWind from New York 12:00: CSL Tacoma, bulker, arrives at Coal Pier (Sydney) from Point Tupper 18:00: AlgoScotia, oil tanker, arrives at Government Wharf (Sydney) from Corner Brook
Footnotes
Yes, supposedly I got one extra hour of sleep last weekend (I didn’t), and theoretically setting the clocks back should make it easier to get up in the morning, but in actual practice I’ve been over-sleeping ever since the time change, and my body is all out of whack.