Platform Calgary was packed on Wednesday as Canada’s Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, explained more about how the government plans to support the growing AI industry.
“We are on a ‘Yes on Team’ mission to find answers,” Solomon said. “My job is to enable ‘Team Yes’. To get out of the way when needed and to provide a push when needed.”
According to Solomon, Canada is at a critical juncture where we are experiencing a period of political and technological change that is occurring at an exponential pace.
Minister Evan Solomon says his government is here to support Canada’s AI industry.
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“This political and technological realignment presents real challenges to our sovereignty, our values, our communities… but it also presents opportunities,” Solomon noted.
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Minister Solomon noted that there appear to be two different sides of the AI coin. Those with pom-poms who believe AI will solve all the world’s problems and others with pitchforks who say AI will take away jobs, harm the environment and our future.
“We need to be open to the opportunities here and not stifle innovation and make sure we address their concerns openly,” Solomon said. “Privacy, data, jobs, and we will protect these too.”
Attendees at the Wendesdays event are listening carefully to possible regulations for AI.
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Alberta-based AI firms are responding positively to the idea that the Fed is willing to fight to keep Canadian companies in the country.
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“This spirit of collaboration and ecosystem growth that is built at an actual federal level? I think that is absolutely crucial,” affirmed Ferdinand Hingerl, Chief Technology Officer at Ambyint.
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“With such a strong neighbor to the south that we constantly struggle with (brain drain), the question is how do we address this challenge so that all the money we invest in our people here stays in Canada?”
The federal government’s plan consists of three key pillars: ensuring access to capital, computers and consumers.
“Most companies would rather have a contract than a grant, and the federal government can play a big role in that,” said WaitWell co-founder Shannon Vander Meulen. “It’s a double-edged sword because obviously a lot of companies like mine sell to the U.S. on a large scale.”
There is currently only one voluntary code of conduct for the development and management of advanced generative AI systems in Canada. Solomon tells Global News he and other ministers are working to introduce new legislation to provide a more concrete framework to protect Canadians and their data.
“The Attorney General has introduced legislation to criminalize the non-consensual sharing of deep fake sexual and synthetic images,” Solomon said.
“I will introduce legislation to update our privacy, protect our consumers, protect our children and ensure our children’s information is safe… And then Marc Miller will address the online harms element.”
Lauren Dwyer, associate professor of information design at Mount Royal University, says regulating AI in Canada is critical to protecting Canadians.
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At Mount Royal University, Lauren Dwyer, associate professor of information design, says it’s critically important to create a binding framework to protect Canadians.
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“We are driving along a cliff, with potentially huge consequences if we don’t manage this properly,” Dwyer noted. “And we’ve seen some of the deadliest versions of that when we look at what happened at Tumbler Ridge.”
Dwyer’s research focuses on various areas in the field of artificial intelligence, including how the design of AI influences communication, our behavior, and what people do about it.
If we want to remove the human element, she believes there needs to be a greater focus on accuracy.
“When we use this tool to make things more efficient, we also eliminate the possibility of having a person present at every single step,” Dwyer said. “We love talking to that ‘human in the loop’ about artificial intelligence, someone who is overseeing the decisions being made, and that’s fantastic when efficiency isn’t the goal. When you’re overseeing all of those decisions, but you’re pushed to move faster, and chances are you’re just taking a quick look.”
Dwyer points out that traditionally a foundation is required for the introduction of a new technology.
“A study by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab showed that the majority of Canadians they surveyed were using AI, particularly genetic artificial intelligence like ChatGPT,” Dwyer explained. “And yet the majority of Canadians (who were surveyed) said they didn’t trust the resulting information. So we’re seeing these models starting to break down.”
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However, Dwyer is optimistic that Canada will follow other jurisdictions in developing these regulations.
“The European Union is doing a phenomenal job on regulation, much more so than, for example, the United States is doing on regulation,” Dwyer said.
“That doesn’t mean they have it figured out perfectly and that the EU’s work is not without its flaws. Canada is right to go its own way here and figure out how to find the best balance.”
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