The Big Story

The New York Times is suing the creator of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence bot the Times alleges was trained on millions of its copyrighted articles. It's not the only such lawsuit, but it is the biggest. What this all boils down to are questions that will determine the future of a technology that has the potential to change the world, for good or ill.How different are a human and a computer, when each is learning from example? As machines become able to mimic the creative endeavours humans have mastered, what compensation is owed to the creators they learned from? And can bots like ChatGPT even survive without free access to a world of copyrighted material?GUEST: James Grimmelmann, Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law, Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Explore the challenges of planning a wedding in today's economy, including hidden fees and unexpected charges. Discover the impact of the pandemic on wedding costs and strategies for managing expectations. Get advice for avoiding extra costs and building trust with vendors. Learn how to cover wedding costs without encountering hidden charges.

There have been previous attempts to launch a professional league for the best women skaters in the world—the stars we've all watched at the Olympics, who have had to work second and third jobs to keep their careers going. Those attempts have all failed. In the hopes of finally, at long last, securing a stable league, with real funding and actual, professional treatment (long lacking in other women's leagues) some of the game's best players formed an association first, and only then went looking for a league to play in. This year, they got it. And the early returns have been incredible. This is the story of the long road to a real women's league, and why this time, really, is different.GUEST: Maitreyi Anantharaman, reporter, Defector We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

In 2021, then-Infrastructure minister Catherine McKenna announced a process to assess all of Canada's existing infrastructure in order to better use $180 billion to fix, modernize and improve it over the next dozen years. After that announcement the government began a consultation process on how to do the assessment. At some point in the process there were roundtable discussions, written submissions, a report summarizing those submissions and discussions and ... everything but an infrastructure assessment.What do we know and what don't we know about the state of Canada's roads and bridges, pipes and public places? Why hasn't the assessment even begun, years later? Why does the saga of the infrastructure assessment seem to explain so much of how our governments can operate, and why is it so darkly funny?GUEST: David Reevely, Ottawa reporter, The Logic We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

It's shaping up to be a very strange year for electric vehicles. The market leader by a mile has just launched a much-ridiculed truck. Despite growing market penetration, analysts worry the share of EVs is no longer rising fast enough. And in Canada, governments face a tough choice between offering incentives to get drivers in the cars, or to the factories to make them.We have incredibly ambitious goals for electric vehicles in this country. We're off to a good start. Can we keep the momentum going when the people who really want them, and can afford them, all have them?GUEST: David Booth, senior writer, Driving We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Saskatchewan's fight with Ottawa over the carbon tax, potential consequences of not remitting tax payments, uncertainty surrounding implementation of the charge, possibility of a legal battle and public opinion, Saskatchewan's challenge to federal clean energy regulations and carbon tax.

This podcast explores the extreme drought conditions in Canada, including water shortages in McBride, BC, and potential impacts on farming and wildfires. It highlights the misconception of Canada being a water-rich nation and emphasizes the need for proactive measures in water management and disaster response.

Kara is being asked to pay back all the money she received from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit back in 2020. But she’s making less now than she was before the pandemic and all of her expenses have gone up. She doesn't have the means to pay the Canada Revenue Agency and might have to file bankruptcy as a result. Jordan talks to Elizabeth Mulholland to find out why the CRA is going after this money now. Then speaks with licensed insolvency trustee, Doug Hoyes, to learn more about what it means to go bankrupt in Canada. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Why are Canada's passenger trains so slow? Topics include: embarrassment of slow trains compared to peer countries, personal experience of delays and chaos on VIA Rail, comparison of train and plane travel for Toronto to Montreal or Quebec trips, origin and challenges of Canada's passenger rail system, and the lack of high-speed rail

None of the 177 passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight was seriously hurt, despite a panel blowing out of the middle of the aircraft at 16,000 feet shortly after takeoff. The emergency landing is a credit to the people involved. What we've since learned about this series of aircraft, though, is deeply troubling.Outsourcing is a growing trend in the aircraft industry. The company the built the key part of this aircraft—as well as others that have since been grounded—was already mired in an ongoing court case for allegedly cutting corners. This is not the first time a large chunk of Boeing planes have been grounded over safety concerns. What's happening in the airplane industry? And what do you need to know if you're flying?GUEST: Katya Schwenk, reporter at The Lever We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter