Andre Beaulieu

Yes. Writing is not a second thing that happens after thinking. The act of writing is an act of thinking. Writing *is* thinking. Students, academics, and anyone else who outsources their writing to LLMs will find their screens full of words and their minds emptied of thought.

Kicked off the week in beautiful #QuebecCity with the @banffforum Board Retreat & AGM! From a special visit to the Governor General’s residence to strategic planning for #BanffForum 2025, it was a powerful few days of reflection, connection, and vision. 🇨🇦

June 2, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" airs. A totalitarian state decides to execute a man who poses a grave threat to their "perfect" society: a librarian. But the tables soon turn. Stars Burgess Meredith in the 3rd of his 4 TZ eps, and Fritz Weaver in the 2nd of two.

Pithy and largely accurate 🧵

Gen Z is willing to sell personal data—for $50 a month - Fast Company fastcompany.com/91338997/gen-z…

AI Agents vs. Agentic AI: A Conceptual Taxonomy, Applications and Challenges Sapkota et al.: arxiv.org/abs/2505.10468 #ArtificialInteligence #DeepLearning #MachineLearning

Excerpt: Author says Canada’s ability to scale up companies involves fixing problems with corporate governance in Western economies #cdnpoli buff.ly/ivLKI9n

Apropos of nothing, my favourite Canadian political book cover.

This is your weekly reminder that no trade deals have been completed and that despite the "pause" tariff rates remain extraordinarily high. h/t @JosephPolitano

A great time to (re-)read our 2023 cover package "The Diplomats" With @BobRae48, @LGaladza, @Ailish_Campbell, Jeremy Kinsman, @kerry_buck, @mmanulak & Duncan Snidal, @mblanchfield & FenHampson + Q&As with Nadia Theodore & @SenBoehm bit.ly/4hfVQz7 #cdnpoli #diplomacy

When U.S. adversaries look at the activities of Elon Musk and his team of engineers from DOGE, they “surely see an espionage and blackmail bonanza,” write James Goldgeier and @ProfSaunders. foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…

Rimouski se mobilise pour la Marche de l’Espoir journallesoir.ca/2025/04/20/scl… via @journalSoir

And there it is. Trump's plan is exactly Putin's plan. Putin pauses confkict, legalizing when Russia occupies, sanctions come off, Russia rebuilds military and launches full scale war into the rest of Europe.

😂

Medication Ad

Today we remember Jim Flaherty, a brilliant public servant, a passionate advocate, and to those of us who knew him, a mentor and dear friend. I had the privilege of working alongside Jim at Flaherty McCarthy LLP. His impact extended far beyond politics, through his work on the Abilities Centre and Ontario Tech University. Jim helped build lasting legacies in our community. He is deeply missed and fondly remembered.

🎧 This week on WONK: Economist Armine Yalnizyan, PPF’s @Sean_Speer and @Jay_Khosla talk to host @AmandaLang about the big issues this election, the rise of economic nationalism and some positive notes from the campaign. ppforum.ca/policy-speakin…

Trump and and his team have failed to answer the two most fundamental tariff questions: 1) *What Does Success Look Like?* What's the specific goal and the metric to be accountable to? Is it: - No trade deficit with any country (impossible)? - Other countries cut their tariffs (they offered to!)? - Is there a manufacturing jobs target? - Onshored industries like garments? - An economic growth or investment target? - A tax revenue target? - Ego-driven intimidation of U.S. corporations? - Or just to end intl trade? 2) *What Does Failure Look Like?* What can finally prove to you that this did not work? - A market collapse? (check) - Global retaliation? (check) - Rising prices? Slower economic growth? (coming) - A failure to produce a burst or manufacturing jobs or business investment? (very likely) - Continued trade deficits with some nations? (guaranteed) - Any remaining imports? (guaranteed) - No notable budget savings? (very likely) If there is no measurable metric of success or failure, then the tariffs are not economic policy - they are an economic suicide pact in service of some philosophical aversion to trading with and being interdependent with foreigners. And we're all just the collateral damage.

Science fiction may help foster a sense of global solidarity by evoking awe, study finds via @psypost psypost.org/science-fictio…

TSN president Johnston top candidate to become CFL commissioner theglobeandmail.com/sports/footbal…