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PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Google Maps is heading down a new road steered by artificial intelligence.

The shift announced Thursday will bring more of the revolutionary AI technology that Google already has been baking into its dominant search engine to the digital maps service that the internet company launched nearly 20 years ago as part of its efforts to expand into new frontiers.

Google Maps recently surpassed 2 billion monthly users worldwide for the first time, a milestone that illustrates how dependent people have become on the service’s directions during their daily commutes and excursions to new places. With the introduction of Google’s AI-powered Gemini technology, the maps are now being set up to become entertainment guides in addition to navigational tools.

Starting this week in the U.S. only, users will be able to converse with Google Maps to ask for tips on things to do around specific spots in a neighborhood or city and receive lists of restaurants, bars and other nearby attractions that include reviews that have been compiled through the years. The new features will also provide more detailed information about parking options near a designated destination along with walking directions for a user to check after departing the car.

“We are entering a new era of maps,” Miriam Daniel, general manager of Google Maps, told reporters Wednesday during a preview of the features presented in Palo Alto, California. “We are transforming how you navigate and explore the world.”

Google Maps also is trying to address complaints by introducing more detailed imagery that will make it easier to see which lane of the road to be situated in well ahead of having to make a turn.

In another AI twist, Google Maps is going to allow outside developers to tap into the language models underlying its Gemini technology to enable pose questions about specific destinations, such as apartments or restaurants, and get their queries answered within seconds. Google says this new feature, which initially will go through a testing phase, has undergone a fact-checking procedure that it calls “grounding.”

Google’s Waze maps, which focus exclusively on real-time driving directions, will use AI to offer a conversational way for its roughly 180 million monthly users to announce hazards in the road and other problems that could affect traveling times.

The decision to bring AI into a service that so many rely upon to get from one point to the next reflects Google’s growing confidence in its ability to prevent its Gemini technology from providing false or misleading information, also known as “hallucinations,” to users. Google’s AI has already been caught hallucinating in some of the summaries that began rolling in May, including advice to put glue on pizza and an assertion that the fourth U.S. president, James Madison, graduated from the University of Wisconsin, located in a city named after him.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Bridget Carleton was in Minneapolis this summer when a WNBA fan stopped her on the street. The fan rolled up a sleeve to reveal a tattoo of Carleton’s name and her Minnesota Lynx jersey number on their arm.

For the Canadian, it was just another example of the league’s growing popularity in its most successful season ever.

“The passion these fans have, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Carleton of the fan’s ink. “I feel like, especially in women’s sports, fans can be connected to us on a different level because we put ourselves out there.

“We try to show our personalities, be more than just the athletes we are. I think that’s what’s special about it and they get to know us.”

The WNBA reached new highs in 2024 on and off the court.

It started with a hotly anticipated draft where NCAA scoring sensation Caitlin Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. The Chicago Sky took rebounding wiz Angel Reese seventh overall in that same draft, which American sports broadcaster ESPN said averaged 2.4 million viewers, up 328 per cent over 2023 to become the most-viewed WNBA Draft ever.

May’s announcement of a new franchise based in Toronto generated more buzz in Canada before the WNBA’s season had begun.

Although the as-yet-unnamed Toronto franchise won’t play until 2026, the WNBA reports that regular-season viewership in Canada was up 148 per cent year over year.

The second annual WNBA Canada Game a pre-season exhibition held on May 5 in Edmonton, featured a sellout crowd for the second consecutive year. Viewership of the second Canada Game was up 65 per cent in Canada over the 2023 edition in Toronto.

The excitement continued on the court as Las Vegas Aces centre A’ja Wilson set a new WNBA record with 26.9 points per game, Reese set the new rebounding mark with 13.1 per game, and Clark fed into a rivalry with Reese over rookie of the year honours with a league-best 8.4 assists per game.

Ultimately, Clark won the rookie of the year award after Reese’s season ended early with a hairline fracture in her wrist.

ESPN reported several new ratings highs, including the most-viewed regular season ever across its platforms, averaging 1.2 million viewers per game in the United States, up 170 per cent over 2023.

When Clark’s Fever played Reese’s Sky on June 23 it was the most-watched regular-season game in WNBA history, averaging 2.3 million viewers.

Carleton, playing her sixth WNBA season, felt that excitement.

“Arenas all across the country were sold out consistently the playoffs were just another level of energy and excitement in every single building,” she said on Wednesday from her home in Chatham-Kent, Ont. “You felt it on social media, even in the cities, walking around on the street where two, three years ago, I probably wouldn’t have gotten recognized.

“Now it’s hard to go out in public without at least one or two people noticing me or saying ‘hey, good game last night,’ things like that. It’s so fun to be a part of this wave.”

Carleton averaged a career-high 29.9 minutes per game for Minnesota, scoring 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a steal per game. She finished third in voting for the league’s Most Improved Player Award, helping the Lynx (30-10) reach the playoffs for a 15th time.

“Getting a solid opportunity this year to be a consistent starter and play significant minutes was just a credit, I think, to all the hard work I put in and being the player I can be,” said Carleton. “I’m really proud of how far I’ve come as a professional and I think this year was a good showing of that.”

Carleton kept contributing in the post-season, making two clutch free throws with two seconds left in the fourth quarter as Minnesota forced a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Oct. 18 by beating the New York Liberty 82-80.

That winner-take-all finale also drew record numbers of viewers with ESPN reporting that WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV was the most-watched Finals in the league’s 25 years, averaging 1.6 million viewers, up 115 per cent over 2023.

Each telecast in the five-game series averaged more than a million American viewers, with Games 3, 4, and 5 each becoming the most-viewed WNBA Finals games ever on U.S. cable.

“I think women’s basketball has been on the rise for a long time, and finally, we’re getting the recognition we deserve,” said Carleton. “People just gave us a chance finally, and they obviously love the product and are sticking to it.

“It’s been so much fun. Definitely, it’s fun to see the growth, to get to where we are now.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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