The AI North Brief
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Artificial Intelligence is evolving faster than our capability to understand its eventual impact. The AI North Brief is your daily filter, cutting through the noise to deliver only the essential news and policy shifts shaping Canada and the world.
Hosted by veteran news anchor and communications expert Paul Karwatsky, the show bridges the gap between the anchor desk and the cutting edge of AI governance. Currently pursuing his MS in AI Policy, Ethics, and Management at Purdue University, Paul brings a unique lens to the daily brief—combining decades of journalistic rigor with a deep, academic dive into the ethical frameworks and regulatory hurdles that will define the next decade.
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The AI North Brief
How to Avoid AI Scams in Canada: Tax Season Safety Guide 2026
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Tax season 2026 brings new AI tools—and new AI scams. The CRA's Charlie chatbot got a $18M generative AI upgrade, but how do you know which AI tools to trust?
In 2024, Canadians lost over $638 million to fraud, with AI making scams harder to spot. Voice cloning now takes just 3 seconds of audio. Deepfakes fooled an Ontario man out of $12,000 using fake Trudeau videos. One Hong Kong company lost $25 million to a deepfake video conference.
This episode covers: CRA's AI chatbot accuracy and limitations, how voice cloning and deepfake scams work, who's most at risk (newcomers, seniors, everyone), protecting yourself from AI-powered phishing, what to share (and not share) with AI chatbots, why Bill C-27 died and what regulators are doing now, and practical steps to stay safe this tax season.
Scammers are ready. Make sure you are too.
Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction: Tax season meets AI 0:45 CRA's Charlie Chatbot: $18M upgrade explained 2:30 The AI scam landscape: $638M stolen in 2024 3:45 Voice cloning & deepfake threats 4:50 Who's most at risk 5:40 How to protect yourself 7:15 What regulators are (and aren't) doing 8:15 Practical steps for 2026 8:50 Final takeaway