LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I was raised on a steady diet of science fiction, which provided an imaginative glimpse into worlds set far in the future. Though fictional, the stories contained far-fetched elements that are now starting to crop up in the present day. We highlight a few of those elements in this month’s issue. For example, I am completely obsessed with the latest trend of hotel robots (page 34). Cheeky bots and AI are moving out of the movies and into places like Montreal’s Hotel Monville, where a bot named H2M2 delivers midnight snacks straight to your room. There is no more making late-night small talk with room service; instead, it’s a friendly HAL that takes your order. Let’s hope he’s more compliant than the original.

Imagine if the meal ordered from that bot – or on your next street-food adventure – was made in a lab. In this month’s Leaders of the Pack (page 31), food scientist Isha Datar challenges us to be mindful of the journey food takes to get to our plates. She is working with a team on cellular agriculture that has the ability to grow animal proteins in a lab. Asking your replicator for a “hot dog, mustard and ketchup – hot” may no longer solely live in the script of a Star Trek episode.

We also cross Canada to catalogue a crop of start-ups set on changing the world (page 65). Travel – whether commuting or exploring – can be frustrating for people with physical disabilities. That’s why Maayan Ziv, a Toronto-based entrepreneur who lives with muscular dystrophy, launched a crowd-sourced interactive app called AccessNow that maps the accessibility of places around the world – critical intel for planning a trip in the palm of your hand.

Technology is completely changing how we live and how we travel in amazing and sometimes futuristic ways. And Canada is a big part of that global push to help us live long and prosper, by helping grow smarter food and build smarter cities. Enjoy the issue!