Teresa Scassa - Blog

The federal government has just launched an AI Strategy Task Force and public engagement on a new AI strategy for Canada. Consultation is a good thing – the government took a lot of flak for the lack of consultation leading up to the ill-fated AI and Data Act that was part of the now-defunct Bill C-27. That said, there are consultations and there are consultations. Here are some of my concerns about this one.

The consultation has two parts. First, the government has convened an AI Task Force consisting of some very talented and clearly public-spirited Canadians who have expertise in AI or AI-adjacent areas. Let me be clear that I appreciate the time and energy that these individuals are willing to contribute to this task. However, if you peruse the list, you will see that few of the Task Force members are specialists in the ethical or social science dimensions of AI. There are no experts in labour and employment issues (which are top of mind for many Canadians these days), nor is there representation from those with expertise in the environmental issues we already know are raised by AI innovation. Only three people from a list of twenty-six are tasked with addressing “Building safe AI systems and public trust in AI”. The composition of the Task Force seems clearly skewed towards rapid adoption and deployment of AI technologies. This is an indication that the government already has a new AI Strategy – they are just looking for “bold, pragmatic and actionable recommendations” to bolster it. It is a consultation to make the implicit strategy explicit.

The first part of the process will see the members of the Task Force, “consult their networks to provide actionable insights and recommendations.” That sounds a lot like insider networking which should frankly raise concerns. This does not lend itself to ensuring fair and appropriate representation of diverse voices. It risks creating its own echo chambers. It is also very likely to lack other elements of transparency. It is hard to see how the conversations and interactions between the private citizens who are members of the task force and their networks will produce records that could be requested under the Access to Information Act.

The second part of the consultation is a more conventional one where Canadians who are not insiders are invited to make contributions. Although the press release announcing the consultation directs people to the “Consulting Canadians”, it does not provide a link. Consulting Canadians is actually a Statistics Canada site. What the government probably meant was “Consulting with Canadians”, which is part of the Open Canada portal (and I have provided a link).

The whole process is described in the press release as a “national sprint” (which is much fancier than calling it “a mad rush to a largely predetermined conclusion”). In November, the AI Task Force members “will share the bold, practical ideas they gathered.” That’s asking a lot, but no doubt they will harness the power of Generative AI to transcribe and summarize the input they receive.

If, in the words of the press release, “This moment demands a renewal of thinking—a collective commitment to reimagining how we harness innovation, achieve our artificial intelligence (AI) ambition and secure our digital sovereignty”, perhaps it also demands a bit more time and reflection. That said, if you want to be heard, you now have less than a month to provide input – so get writing and look for the relevant materials in the Consulting with Canadians portal.