Canada's National Observer

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Canada's National Observer delivers vital reporting on the defining crisis of our time: climate change. Through rigorous investigation and compelling storytelling, we expose the forces shaping Canada's climate future. www.nationalobserver.com/newsletters

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Screenshot text: In an emailed statement to Canada's National Observer, Frank Switzer, managing director of communications for the CCPIB, confirmed the organization has a "broadly syndicated loan with xAI to finance the construction of their second data center," but said it is "not an endorsement of, or operational role in, any particular product feature."

Switzer said the board is "aware of the recent controversy involving Grok’s image-generation capabilities and the resulting regulatory scrutiny."

"The misuse of Grok is deplorable and we denounce it," he said. "We unequivocally condemn the terrible practices that emerged in recent reports and take issues involving non-consensual imagery and child safety extremely seriously. These are matters for the operator’s governance, safeguards, and compliance. We treat the Grok incident pattern as a risk that must be corrected."

Switzer said the CPPIB would "push for hard blocks for non-consensual sexualized imagery and anything involving minors at generation time (not only after posting); independent safety assessment; transparency reporting; clear accountability between model team and platform moderation team, with board-level oversight; and incident response protocols as a start."

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The election is days away. Join Canada's National Observer with @maxfawcett.bsky.social, @rachelgilmore.bsky.social, and @davidmckie.bsky.social for a candid discussion on media, disinformation, and what's really at stake.

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