B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream -- less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails.
The company said Wednesday it is bringing the new AI technology to its Bing smartphone app, as well as the app for its Edge internet browser, though it is still requiring people to sign up for a waitlist before using it.
Putting the new AI-enhanced search engine into the hands of smartphone users is meant to give Microsoft an advantage over Google, which dominates the internet search business but hasn't yet released such a chatbot to the public.
In the two weeks since Microsoft unveiled its revamped Bing, more than a million users around the world have experimented with a public preview of the new product after signing up for a waitlist to try it. Microsoft said most of those users responded positively, but others found Bing was insulting them, professing its love or voicing other disturbing or bizarre language.
Powered by some of the same technology behind the popular writing tool ChatGPT, built by Microsoft partner OpenAI, the new Bing is part of an emerging class of AI systems that have mastered human language and grammar after ingesting a huge trove of books and online writings. They can compose songs, recipes and emails on command, or concisely summarize concepts with information found across the internet. But they are also error-prone and unwieldy.
Reports of Bing's odd behaviour led Microsoft to look for a way to curtail Bing's propensity to respond with strong emotional language to certain questions. It's mostly done that by limiting the length and time of conversations with the chatbot, forcing users to start a fresh chat after several turns. But the upgraded Bing also now politely declines questions that it would have responded to just a week ago.
"I'm sorry but I prefer not to continue this conversation," it says when asked technical questions about how it works or the rules that guide it. "I'm still learning so I appreciate your understanding and patience."
Microsoft said its new technology will also be integrated into its Skype messaging service.
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
The ex-husband of Tatjana Stefanski – the woman whose disappearance and death set the small town of Lumby, B.C., on edge last month – has been charged with her murder.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two power-play goals as Edmonton smothered the Dallas Stars 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the NHL's Western Conference final on Friday.
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Jennifer Lopez has cancelled her 2024 North American tour, representatives for Live Nation confirmed to The Associated Press.
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
A man convicted of murdering a Toronto police officer more than four decades ago has been granted day parole for six months.
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.
Abigail Strate is a member of the Canadian national ski jumping team and an Olympic bronze medallist. She's also a certified beekeeper.