The Evolution of Business Loyalty in the USA

To conclude the year, we asked our contributors and staff to make a prediction for 2023. You would think that after last year, we'd learned our lesson about making forecasts, but we couldn't stop ourselves. Feel free to keep these if you want to disgrace us later.Cities will be more appealing in 2023 COVID severely disrupted home markets in the GTA and Lower Mainland. Urban housing markets, particularly condos, have declined in favor of real estate outside large cities.While property prices outside of large cities were already rising due to individuals fleeing Toronto and Vancouver home prices, COVID was a significant catalyst. Anecdotes of people relocating to rural locations or smaller cities far outside of usual commuting distance became common.This tendency drastically reversed in 2022, when the reality of commuting became more apparent. Cities became more appealing as white-collar workers returned to work. I believe this will continue in 2023, as office workers transition from infrequent office appearances to more regular commutes.While it is difficult to predict what will happen to the total housing market in the medium term, I believe that housing in large cities will outperform the rest of the country At least one autocratic leader will not be in power by the end of 2023.Predictions are no more than wishful thinking. Even if your estimate is correct, things happen for the wrong reasons.

With that said, here are mine. One 

of the following people will not see the end of the year: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, or Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. All three are sitting on internal political time bombs, one of which is almost certainly going to blow.If I had to pick one, Khamenei is the most likely to end horribly. When the majority of your country's women are among the protestors, you have little hope of survival. Even the Supreme Leader's niece wants him out.Putin will most likely hang in because he is surrounded by 30,000 to 50,000 Pretorian Guards. They will safeguard him as long as he pays.In China, Xi is safe as long as COVID-19 does not spread. That may change now that all mandates have been removed. With poor vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly, 2023 might be terrible for the Chinese economy and Communist Party.To conclude the year, we asked our contributors and staff to make a prediction for 2023. You would think that after last year, we'd learned our lesson about making forecasts, but we couldn't stop ourselves. Feel free to keep these if you want to disgrace us later.Virtual love interests are closer than we realize.Chris Spoke.Have you seen the 2013 film Her?It depicts Joaquin Phoenix in a romantic connection with an artificially intelligent virtual assistant personified as a female voice, whom he communicates with on a daily basis via a Bluetooth-like headset.

This technology and conduct will emerge in a large way before the end of the year.

This prediction is based on two significant data points.First, OpenAI's chatbot tool, ChatGPT, is already impressing people with its ability to answer basic queries effectively and simply. It's powered by a slightly improved third edition of OpenAI's Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) language model (GPT3). The next iteration, GPT4, is predicted to be up to 500 times as powerful.Second, an app called Replika already offers a rather evolved version of this experience--that of a digital lover or girlfriend. And get this: it has more than ten million users.So:Consider an audio-based Replika.ai or competitor powered by GPT4 and a pair of AirPods.That's her. She's closer than you realize. With Canada's premiers finding inspiration in their loyal constituents' goblin-mode attitude in the aftermath of the epidemic, many of them will increase their inclination to behave badly on a number of fronts, propelling Canada into the biggest constitutional crisis since 1926. However, in classic Canadian way, no one will notice any difference.Interest rates will rise again in 2023, and inflation will finally begin to ease, albeit it will not revert to the Bank of Canada's target range of 2 percent. As demographics and public views shift us into a "perpetual shortage" economy, inflation will settle at around 4-5 percent. Thus, interest rates are unlikely to fall below four percent. On the positive side, the 4% guideline for retirement withdrawals will be easier to execute.

To the surprise of both the RCMP and Canada's 

Security Services, a prominent international media organization will report that Meghan Markle, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Tom Cruise flew into the country on a private jet and rented a cottage in Muskoka where they all went waterskiing. On their trip back to Pearson International Airport, they will be seen shopping at an outlet mall on the 400. Their visit will only be known since they filled out the ArriveCan App. Netflix will produce a limited series about the caper.The Canada Revenue Agency will outsource its customer support and response responsibilities to ChatGPT in a multimillion-dollar contract. Following a substantial increase in CRA service levels, ChatGPT will be given responsibility for Passport Canada and, eventually, Global Affairs Canada.The sun will rise and set. Governments will leave and come. The young will discover love, and the seasons will change. The health-care crisis will pass, only to reoccur. The provincial premiers will meet again. However, Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire will still be waiting for a match to ignite its blaze.