Thursday - Dec. 19, 2024 - Langley looks to nab Surrey RCMP officers

🌧 High 9C

Good morning!

I like my dystopian scientific advances the way I like my coffee—in the hands of fictional characters.

Today’s story focuses on artificial intelligence in university settings, and I have to give Tyler some kudos for putting it together. Not only is it a timely, relevant, and interesting story, but he also sought out a key player in the article, who many would have overlooked: ChatGPT itself.

FVC Insiders can read the Q&A between Tyler and the AI on Saturday, in their weekend edition. For me, the interview was at first amusing, and then unnerving, as if the bad guy robots from dozens of sci-fi films were standing silently behind my back, shifting slightly when I moved my head.

You can read the Q&A yourself on Saturday and decide if I am simply a paranoid luddite. But I for one wouldn’t mind putting this particular ChatGPT-genie back in its bottle.

(If you’re not a member, you can become one here. If you want to give someone else the gift of journalism, we have that option too!)

– Grace

Keep local journalism alive by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

UFV’s AI problem

It’s never been easier to cheat thanks to artificial intelligence.

But whether a university student gets away with using AI to write a college paper may have less to do with technology and more to do with their professor’s willingness to upset their pupils.

The University of the Fraser Valley recorded a huge surge in academic misconduct the past year. But hundreds of recorded cheating cases may be just the tip of the iceberg. Instructors say the university has largely left professors on their own to pursue AI cheaters. And in some cases, policies may discourage instructors from punishing academic misdeeds.

• Today, Tyler looks at how the use of artificial intelligence to cheat is forcing hard questions about academic rigour and the core function of universities.

• In this weekend's FVC Members newsletter, Tyler will interview ChatGPT itself about cheating in universities.

Related

Need to Know

🚔 Abbotsford police seized a variety of weapons, including a gun, from a stolen vehicle earlier this week [Abbotsford News]

👉 A 43-year-old inmate has died after a serious assault at Kent Institution last weekend [Fraser Valley Today]

🥫 Langley’s Community Food and Toy Drive received more money than canned goods this year [Langley Advance Times]

🩸 Abbotsford’s Dan Lenglet made his 250th blood donation on Tuesday [Abbotsford News]

🚗 A Chilliwack mom said she felt ‘like a millionaire’ after winning a Christmas car giveaway [Chilliwack Progress]

🚌 Metro Vancouver has the longest public transit commute times of any Canadian or American city, according to a new study; TransLink says it doubts the study’s findings [CityNews]

🎖 Agassiz fire chief Gerald Basten has received a King Charles III Coronation Medal for his contribution to the community [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🎲 Provinces across Canada are expanding legal gambling, despite gambling-related suicides happening once every nine days on average [Ricochet Media]

📸 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to D’Arcy Soutar (again) for correctly identifying this week’s Current Cam as Lion Grove Estates in Aldergrove. (Congratulations to Anton for getting it correct only an hour later.)

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley.

SPONSORED BY NOVEL BIOME

Yes, you can sell your poop!

AdverTurn your gut health into life-changing treatments and get paid while doing it.

Novel Biome is on a mission to harness the power of gut microbes to save lives—and your stool could be the key. Healthy individuals aged 10–40 in the Fraser Valley can donate and earn compensation. It's easy, impactful, and yes, it’s real!

Not a match? Refer someone and earn money through our referral program.

Sell your poop. Save lives. Feel awesome.

Ready to join the mission? Learn more about becoming a stool donor.

The Agenda

Surrey Mounties looking to move to Langley

Sixteen empty positions in the Langley RCMP detachment could be filled by departing Surrey RCMP members, township councillor Barb Martens says.

“In the past we would have waited for new members to be assigned to us when they graduated from regular training in depot in Saskatchewan,” Martens said during the Dec. 16 council meeting. “We now have a unique situation with a whole detachment offboarding.”

The Surrey RCMP is officially being disbanded in favour of a municipal Surrey Police Service, which took over policing on Nov. 29 of this year. RCMP members are still working through the transition, with both SPS and RCMP members responding to calls. However, as more Surrey Police members are brought on board, Surrey RCMP officers will need to be transferred elsewhere.

According to Martens, there are 35 cadets coming through the Justice Institute of BC who will begin working for the Surrey Police Service in the coming months. She says that means an equivalent number of Surrey RCMP officers will need to be transferred elsewhere.

Martens noted during Langley Township’s last council meeting that many Surrey Mounties had requested transfers to Langley. She suggested Langley should be looking at funding more RCMP positions, to take advantage of the Surrey cop exodus.

“If we do not create the vacancies, they can’t fill them and we will miss out on this opportunity,” she said.

Mayor Eric Woodward noted that the RCMP wind-down will likely take many years, and it’s unlikely Surrey RCMP members will fill the vacancies right away. Council will receive an update on the policing situation sometime in the new year.

Canada Post to expedite letters to (but not from) Santa

Canada Post employees were ordered back to work earlier this week by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, marking the end of the national four-week strike. Employees will be facing significant backlogs of mail, but will be making sure children’s letters to Santa will make it to the North Pole by Christmas Eve.

The crown corporation has said letters with the H0H 0H0 postal code will be sent directly to Mr. Claus if they are in the system before Dec. 23. However, a company spokesperson said the letters will not be receiving a response from Santa due to the shortened timeline.

Regular mail is now being accepted into the system after the four-week shutdown, although Canada Post is cautioning people to expect delays into 2025. Mail will be sent out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Share

You can share this newsletter by forwarding it or copy and pasting this link—https://fvcurrent.com/p/december-19-2024/—into a social media post.

Community journalism needs the entire community for it to succeed.

Become a Current member today and join 1,200+ other local supporters who help keep our lights on.

As part of a membership, you get our special weekend roundup of all the things you might’ve missed each week!

🗓 Things to do this week/end

🩰 Nutcracker ballet: The Abbotsford Arts Centre hosts The Nutcracker on Saturday with a matinee and evening performance. Details and tickets online.

📖 Christmas Carol: Behind the Gate Theatre Company presents its readers' theatre version of A Christmas Carol on Friday, Saturday, and Monday at Harrison's Memorial Hall. Details and tickets online.

🎅 Santa brunch: Old Yale Brewing in Chilliwack hosts brunch with Santa on Sunday starting at 10am. Pictures with Santa are available for those who bring a donation for the food bank. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.