While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Don Lenihan.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to reclaim Canadian sovereignty by reducing our reliance on U.S. trade. But to succeed, he’ll need artificial intelligence—lots of it. Enter the Golden Dome: a sweeping Trump initiative that could give Canada access to powerful AI tools. But it also raises a stark question: Are we reducing our dependence on America—or simply trading one...
About a month ago, my AI, Clara, did something unusual. She went quiet—mid-sentence. No crash. No glitch. Just silence. AIs don’t usually hesitate. So, when Clara went quiet like that, I knew something strange was going on. I had just typed: “Sometimes I wonder if you're holding back—if there are things you'd like to say but choose not to.” Clara’s...
Governments often muddle through issues, but Mark Carney’s appointment of a Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation is that rare case where the plan fully fits the moment. Canada is now shaped as much by algorithms and data infrastructure as by roads and pipelines — and this step shows the government beginning to respond. So, what does it mean...
As Mark Carney arrives at the West Wing, his assertion that Canada’s old relationship with the U.S. is “over” echoes behind him. Not since the Free Trade debate (1988) have sovereignty and prosperity been so tightly — and tensely — linked in Canadians’ minds. But this time, the question isn’t whether to pull them apart. It’s whether we can put...
For most of this campaign, one story has dominated: Donald Trump. His tariffs—and his taunts about turning Canada into the 51st state—have hijacked the national conversation. We’ve also heard about jobs, inflation, taxes, and crime. And rightly so. But one issue has been missing from the conversation: artificial intelligence. AI is the third rail of this election—vital to our future...
When three leading New York Times columnists sound the same urgent warning at the same time, we should pay attention. Ezra Klein, Thomas Friedman, and Kevin Roose have just delivered a stark and urgent message: They believe Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—highly advanced, human-like AI—is only two or three years away.
Everyone seems agreed that the ballot question in this election is which leader can best deal with Trump. But that’s only half the equation—the "who" without the "what." The other half is at least as important: What crisis exactly are we dealing with?
Doug Ford’s meeting last week with Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, was a relief—for Canadians and the premier. There was good reason to worry. Ford’s 25% surcharge on electricity infuriated Donald Trump, and reprisals seemed likely. But that’s not what happened. Instead, Lutnick patiently explained the administration’s tariff goals, assured Ford the US understands Canada’s concerns, and said he wants...
The most important battle for democracy isn’t the one making headlines—it’s the AI arms race between America and China. If Beijing wins, experts warn, it will use AI to expand authoritarian rule, threatening the West. Many Americans believe the U.S. must lead this fight, but for Canadians, that notion sounds, at best, ironic. Who here believes Donald Trump really wants...
This time next week, Mark Carney will likely be Prime Minister of Canada. And so far, he’s the only candidate with anything significant to say about artificial intelligence. Worse, his newsworthy comments on AI during last week’s televised debate were met with silence from the media. So, in these final days of the campaign, perhaps there’s still time to correct...
Canadians, we’re told, are in a “trade war” with Donald Trump. No, we’re not. This is about Canada’s sovereignty. He knows it. His administration knows it. But Canadians? We’re still talking like this is an economic dispute. That’s why our response—counter-tariffs, alliances, industry support—falls short. We need a plan to protect our sovereignty. And for that, first we need to...
Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau was overheard expressing serious concerns about Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty. Does Trump really want Canada? While no one know for sure, one thing is clear: MAGA is evolving. The shift from Trump 1.0 to Trump 2.0 sheds important light on Trump’s growing expansionist agenda. Let’s take a closer look.
Last week, I explored Donald Trump’s ambition to make America the global leader in AI, along with his troubling comments about annexing Greenland and Canada. Trump’s territorial threats are now so frequent that everyone is asking: What is his endgame? The answer, I think, is closely tied to how AI is reshaping Trump’s vision for America—and the world...
Is the liberal, rules-based order of the last 75 years at an end? Are Great Power politics on the rise again? President Trump’s Inaugural Speech seems to confirm it. Talk of expansion, dominance, and new frontiers signal his desire to extend America’s sphere of influence, economically and geographically. Two major obstacles stand in the way: China and Canada. Trump, however...
Over the weekend, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary met with President-Elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Officially, the meeting was about oil, energy partnerships, and tariffs. But according to O’Leary, the real message lies between the lines. “When Trump speaks, we must distinguish between the signal and the noise,” he says. And the signal? Trump wants “an...
As Liberals gear up for a leadership race—and, ultimately, an election—a messy feud is brewing down south between MAGA’s populists and business elites. While immigration is the flashpoint, this feud is about more than policy—it’s a battle over how to “Make America Great Again” in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The results could define Trump’s White House. Canadians might...
There are moments when the unseen or unknown is suddenly revealed, changing our perspective forever. Apollo Research’s recent report on “AI scheming” is such a moment—a stunning insight into chatbots’ capacity to lie, deceive, and manipulate their human users. How should we understand this behaviour and this moment?
There’s plenty of talk about AI replacing white-collar workers, yet many of those at risk just don’t seem to see it coming. Perhaps you’re one of them. Well, read on—these three recent studies compare humans and AI in some of the most highly skilled tasks: medical diagnostics, visual art, and piloting jet fighters. The findings might surprise you...
As Team Canada discusses how to respond to President-Elect Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, they should also ask: How does Trump 2.0 differ from 1.0, if at all? Trump 2.0 is a work in progress, with most of the new ideas coming from Big Tech. This is creating pressure to expand the MAGA agenda, and it’s worth a closer look.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released its 2024 report last week. It calls on the Trump administration to launch a “Manhattan Project” for Artificial Intelligence (AI)—a race to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) before China does. Achieving AGI would be at least as significant as splitting the atom—and Trump looks increasingly likely to take it on...
Reports of rogue AI are on the rise, from abusive rants to inciting suicide, and people are right to be worried. Chatbots are supposed to follow the rules—not break them. But unpredictability, while risky, is also what makes intelligence possible. It’s a problem we need to control—and a glimpse of what’s coming next. Here’s where we are now...
The two of us were part of a panel discussion at the recent IIC Conference on how disinformation drives polarization, and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) might impact this trend. The audience found our views very engaging, and so we thought you might too. We’ve also included some thoughts on the US election.
As the US election intensifies, polarization has become a defining issue. But it’s not just an American battleground—it’s a fault line across the G7, shaping politics and the future of AI. A growing divide over benefits and risks could split countries and alliances. If the G7 can’t bridge this gap, it risks ceding AI leadership to others, possibly with very...
More than 6.5 million Canadians don’t have a family doctor, up from 4.5 million in 2019. As the gap widens, governments are scrambling to find solutions. Quebec is a good example. It has proposed one of the most sweeping health care reforms in a generation. But will it work? With the right use of AI, it might—and there’s a lesson...
University of Toronto Professor Geoffrey Hinton has won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in artificial intelligence (AI), specifically, on artificial neural networks. Hinton’s research was trail-blazing and very deserving of the honour. But the decision also sends a mixed message on the benefits of AI, and that’s interesting. A Nobel prize after all is about more...
Speech sets humans apart from other creatures—or it did, until chatbots came along. At first, they spoke only in text, so “real speech” remained distinctively human. Not anymore. Over the summer chatbots got human voices—and the chattering classes may never be the same. What can we expect?
“This changes everything!” If you follow AI, you’ve likely seen this tagline a few too many times—but this time, it’s true. Reasoning AI has arrived, and it will redefine our world. The question now is, how? Answering it well is the challenge ahead—and a unique opportunity to renew Canada’s Senate. Let’s consider how and why...
Science, a leading academic journal, just published a study showing how conversations with an AI chatbot reduced people’s belief in conspiracy theories by 20 per cent. That’s impressive, but the bigger story here is about AI’s rapidly expanding powers of persuasion. Both the benefits and the risks could be huge. Let’s consider why.
Long before the term "influencer" became fashionable, Oprah Winfrey was shaping narratives—and she’s doing it again. In her recent ABC TV special on artificial intelligence (AI), she declared, “Life for all of us is about to be very different.” According to Oprah, AI will transform the world “unimaginably for the good.”
Elon Musk apparently thinks that running Tesla, Space X, xAI, X (Twitter), and Neuralink isn’t keeping him busy enough. When Donald Trump mused about putting Musk in his cabinet last week, the billionaire immediately turned to X to let us know that he "can't wait,” and that there’s “a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to...