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Robert Diab

@robertdiab.bsky.social
213 followers 110 following 151 posts

AI and digital freedoms in Canada: robertdiab.substack.com

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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Why have we heard so much about Kimi K3 and open-weight models this week? What do they mean for the future of AI? robertdiab.substack.com/p/open-weigh...
robertdiab.substack.com
Open-weight models and the future of AI
Why does everyone from Wall Street to the White House care so much about Kimi K3?
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Lead piece in the NYT: “Last year, the [data centres] consumed 64 gigawatts of electricity globally, roughly as much electricity as Germany consumes… By the end of 2030, that is expected to quadruple, eclipsing the power used by all countries in South America and Africa combined.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Open-weight models are not open source. Much about them is never disclosed. Canada’s consultation on AI transparency will look at many issues, including how much model makers should have to disclose. robertdiab.ca/posts/ai-tra...
robertdiab.ca
Will more transparency about AI make you trust it more? | Robert Diab
Canada launches a public consultation on AI transparency, signaling a future of more frequent notice and more disclosure about risks
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Canada has launched a public consultation into AI transparency, with a discussion paper that looks at: -AI-generated content; -AI tools; -Information about the models; -AI incidents; and -AI agents. Will more disclosure make AI seem more trustworthy? robertdiab.substack.com/p/will-more-...
robertdiab.substack.com
Will more transparency about AI make you trust it more?
Canada launches a public consultation on AI transparency, signaling a future of more frequent notice and more disclosure about risks
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Your Saturday morning read... A good overview of what a gov policy on AI transparency might entail. ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...
ised-isde.canada.ca
Enhancing trust in artificial intelligence through increased transparency
Discussion Document
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Google’s AI summaries are diverting traffic, but with recent changes, we may not be heading to ‘Google Zero.’ www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...
nytimes.com
How Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web (Gift Article)
As Google incorporates more artificial intelligence into search, people are spending more time on Google. Some website operators are crying foul.
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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Speaking of the consequences of acting without thinking or planning… Canada’s AI strategy is Policy FOMO, governance by Underpants Gnomes. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Canada’s new AI data centres could be obsolete before they open
Environmental concerns are at the forefront, but the growth of small-language models that run on laptops should also give governments pause
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Many insights in Reuter's Digital News Report 2026, including its main finding: platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube are — for the first time — more popular sources of news, on a global average, than TV and legacy news venues. More in today's post: robertdiab.substack.com/p/who-contro...
robertdiab.substack.com
Who controls how we get the news?
A global survey shows power continuing to move from publishers to platforms, with AI playing a growing role
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Michael Plaxton @michaelplaxton.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
New Substack post, riffing off a recent blog post by @robertdiab.bsky.social. On what it means to "teach AI" to law students. Comments welcome. open.substack.com/pub/michaelp...
open.substack.com
What does it mean to 'teach AI' to law students?
Law schools better start figuring it out.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Gregory Conti in Compact Magazine: "the most vocal skeptics have not fully reckoned with how anthropomorphic AI... is currently in the process of unsettling human psychology and the social fabric." www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
compactmag.com
The AI Apocalypse Is Already Here
Americans do not care for artificial intelligence. Recent polling shows that their attitudes mostly range from ambivalence to horror.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Can you just ignore AI and still be a competent lawyer? (or law prof?) Or will all lawyers soon need to use AI in some capacity to be competent? I take this up at slaw.ca, making the case that soon, most of us will need to be on board with AI. lnkd.in/gtpYyhm8
slaw.ca
Slaw
Canada's online legal magazine
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Another insight from The Atlantic piece on reading — the few of us still reading form a small strong subculture. But should we be consoled by this? www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
An exceptional contribution to the Gutenberg Elegy tradition www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
The End of Reading Is Here
Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Bill C-34 promises effective age verification for social media, and effective AI reporting to police, without compromising privacy. But it can't be done.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Thoughtful piece on how the many recent bills undermining democratic rights in Canada are part of a larger problem of power concentration in the PMO…
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 20/06/2026
Is Canada's teen social media ban constitutional? It's complicated: Legal experts warn Bill C-34 could leave federal government open to legal challenges www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
A proposed social media ban for kids is meant to protect them. Could it violate their rights? | CBC News
Legal experts say the federal social media ban for kids leaves many questions unanswered — including whether it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Lawyers and law professors are raising flag...
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Thoughts on Canada's contentious lawful access bill that the House has just passed. robertdiab.substack.com/p/parliament...
robertdiab.substack.com
Parliament has amended Bill C-22, but has it addressed the biggest privacy concerns?
The House has passed the lawful access bill with amendments, still leaving crucial issues in question
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Great idea Sarah and great work! CanLII's open collection of legal commentary is invaluable.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Shocked, speechless.
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 15/06/2026
I have regularly butted heads with the Privacy Commissioners we've had over the past 20+ years, but sidelining an organization with decades of experience to empower an as yet unconstituted body is frankly shocking. #BillC34
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Bill C-34 will change our relationships with AI and the bonds we forge with it. It will regulate the content of our conversations but also the way chatbots behave with us...
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
After making it free to test for a couple of weeks, last night Anthropic suspended access to Fable 5...
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 12/06/2026
I had a good chat with Rob Breakenridge of the National Post about Bill C-34 aka the Safe Social Media Act. youtu.be/lcMrlLhjeV0
youtu.be
Protecting kids or deputizing censors? The risks posed by social media ban
YouTube video by National Post
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 11/06/2026
Though most of Bill C-34 Safe Social Media Act is left to regulations or Commission rulemaking, it is clear that once it comes into effect young people will be precluded from learning about this law on this site, and all Canadians will have to prove they old enough to handle it.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Will Canadians soon have to prove their age to use social media? Bill C-34 leaves many important details to future regulations. Which platforms will be covered? How will age verification work? Will some services be exempt? I take a brief look here: robertdiab.substack.com/p/will-canad...
robertdiab.substack.com
Will Canadians now have to prove their age to use social media?
A first look at Bill C-34, Canada’s new Safe Social Media Act, and how the under-16 ban might work
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
CanLII and AI connectors are making legal research in Canada smarter, faster, and more accessible... www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...
nationalmagazine.ca
AI tools for case law research keep getting better
CanLII and AI connectors are making legal research in Canada smarter, faster, and more accessible
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 06/06/2026
"Chilling effects can be subtle, but today they are everywhere. And it’s not just students who are chilled by Trump administration threats." @penney.bsky.social, author of Chilling Effects, on Donald Trump and free speech for @theconversation.com #LawSky #PoliSky cup.org/4fIEAFl
theconversation.com
Chilling effects of Trump’s war on free speech extend far beyond campus walls – and that’s the point
A persistent government strategy to sow fear through punitive measures has corroded freedom and democracy.
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CBA/ABC National @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
OPED: Lawyers looking for AI-assisted case law research have, until recently, faced a stark choice. @robertdiab.bsky.social says two new tools have changed that. nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...
nationalmagazine.ca
AI tools for case law research keep getting better
CanLII and AI connectors are making legal research in Canada smarter, faster, and more accessible
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I found this enormously informative — a close reading of the encryption and metadata provisions, and implications of the Cloud Act agreement on the way. Thanks @cyn-k.bsky.social, @kate-robertson.bsky.social, and @digitalprivacy.ca!
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 04/06/2026
The principal police lobby groups (Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, National Police Federation and Canadian Police Association) have something to say about Bill C-22 Lawful Access, and it's so full of crap that I hardly know where to start. www.cacp.ca/cgi/page.cgi...
cacp.ca
NPF, CPA and CACP call for passage of Bill C-22 to provide necessary lawful access in Canada - Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
After months in the pipeline... (link below), drawing on the work of @kjhealy.co, @nsrnicek.bsky.social, @mcopelov.bsky.social and @davidgunkel.bsky.social
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The most extensive look at Bill C-22 thus far, finding parts of it "almost certainly constitutionally fatal" — from @cancivlib.bsky.social and @citizenlab.ca (link below)
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 02/06/2026
Hat tip to Richard Salgado for teaching me the term "moot and scoot." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/skir...
lawfaremedia.org
Skirting Judicial Scrutiny by Mooting and Scooting
We rely on providers to resist improper surveillance. The Justice Department uses a “moot and scoot” tactic to hobble this protection.
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CBA/ABC National @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
OPED: There's another hearing on C-22 today. As major tech companies threaten to leave Canada & U.S. lawmakers weigh in, the government has signaled it will amend the bill. But @robertdiab.bsky.social says the constitutional questions won't end there. www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...
nationalmagazine.ca
National - CBA National - Canadian Legal Affairs
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 01/06/2026
Tune in tomorrow as the #SECU committee has agreed to another hearing on Bill C-22 Lawful Access. Some great organizations to hear from. www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
Bill C-22, An Act respecting lawful access
Witnesses
 
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Canadian Bar Associaton
• Christiane Saad, Chair, Privacy and Access Law Section
Canadian Constitution Foundation
• Alexander Surgenor, Counsel
Signal
• Udbhav Tiwari, Vice-President, Strategy and Global Affairs (by videoconference)
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council
• Khaled Alqazzaz, Executive Director (by videoconference)
Centre for Free Expression
• Tim McSorley, Senior Fellow
OpenMedia
• Matthew Hatfield, Executive Director (by videoconference)
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Enjoyed this convo with @noorazrieh.bsky.social of @canadaland.com about Bill C-22 and why it matters.
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 31/05/2026
I first published this on March 14, 2026. In two and a half months of spin and disinformation by Public Safety and its Minister, none of this about Bill C-22 Lawful Access has been proven to be untrue. youtube.com/shorts/VPv3T...
youtube.com
Consequences of passing Bill C22 Lawful Access Act--Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act
YouTube video by PrivacyLawyer - David Fraser
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
This is helpful context — to know we’ve been here many times before with SCC judges.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Gearing up for a marathon session of interviews today with CBC Radio, from coast to coast, in effort to offer some clarity on Bill C-22.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Countering the Minister's gaslighting yesterday on Bill C-22, two informative and powerful posts today by @mgeist.bsky.social www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/05/more...
michaelgeist.ca
More Misinformation on Bill C-22 as the Government Struggles to Defend Its Lawful Access Plan - Michael Geist
Two posts on Bill C-22 in a single day are not my typical approach, but the volume of misinformation coming from the government about the lawful access bill has made it hard to keep up. Earlier today,...
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Dale, I share your concerns and your hope that the Supreme Court will come to the rescue if the worst parts of Bill C-22 remain. But that will take a while, and even then, it's hard to predict what they will do. Better to get it right here and now.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
What if most of the AI we'll use in five years runs on our phones and laptops, and not in data centres? Small, free models from Microsoft, Google, and Meta are closing the gap fast. Ottawa's $925M bet may not age well. robertdiab.substack.com/p/could-cana...
robertdiab.substack.com
Could Canada’s new AI data centres be obsolete by the time they’re built?
Why the shift toward on-device AI puts Ottawa’s $925M data centre bet in question
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Published a few months ago, but out today in the latest issue of the journal...
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
A piece I've been waiting a while to appear — looking at how we use AI but easily get led by it, drawing on Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben thephilosophicalsalon.com/ai-and-the-e...
thephilosophicalsalon.com
AI and the End of Instrumentality - The Philosophical Salon
When we use AI to search for answers or for some other task, it complies. But it does more than that. It rephrases the question, offers us alternatives, or it ... Read More
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Are protests over AI data centres misinformed? Well, there are 8 AI data centres being built or expanded here in BC. The two Bell has in Kamloops and Merritt and four more planned will = 500MW. They'll need a lot of energy and, even with closed-loop cooling, a lot of water to get set up.
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CBA/ABC National @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
‪ OPED: The constitutional questions raised by Bill C-22 are not going away once the bill passes, and the amendments made in committee, whatever form they take, will shape the landscape of any Charter challenge that follows, says @robertdiab.bsky.social www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...
nationalmagazine.ca
Pressure mounts on Canada's lawful access bill
With major tech companies threatening to leave Canada and U.S. lawmakers weighing in, the government is signalling it will amend C-22. But the constitutional questions it raises won't end there.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Concerns about AI data centre construction out here in British Columbia go beyond to the 2 in Vancouver — to 6 more being built in the Interior.
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Robert Diab @robertdiab.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Hundreds marched in Vancouver Sunday against new AI data centres Telus is building in the city. Ottawa has pledged $925M for "sovereign AI infrastructure." The case for it is weaker than it looks. robertdiab.substack.com/p/is-the-rus...
robertdiab.substack.com
The case for Canada's AI data centres is thinner than it looks
The economic benefits are modest, the environmental claims are unverified, and the strain on grids and water is real
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Michael Geist @mgeist.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says metadata is phone book information and dismisses concerns regarding search implications. Plainly wrong. My post on misleading phone book claim www.michaelgeist.ca/2025/06/more... And @robertdiab on search robertdiab.substack.com/p/pressure-m... x.com/junonewscom/...
michaelgeist.ca
More Than Just Phone Book Data: Why the Government is Dangerously Misleading on its Warrantless Demands for Internet Subscriber Information - Michael Geist
Government and law enforcement justifications for warrantless access to Internet subscriber information has long been defended on the grounds that the information being demanded carries little privacy...
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David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 25/05/2026
The Barreau du Québec's brief to the SECU Committee on Bill C-22 Lawful Access is an interesting read. It focuses exclusively on Part 1, and has this banger quote: www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Comm...
To clearly articulate our position, we endorse the principles established by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Bain:

“Unfortunately it would seem that whenever the Crown is granted statutory power that can be used abusively then, on occasion, it will indeed be used abusively. The protection of basic rights should not be dependent upon a reliance on the continuous exemplary conduct
of the Crown, something that is impossible to monitor or control.”
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