New national AI strategy promises more use of the technology in the public service

AI Minister Evan Solomon speaks to reporters outside a Liberal Party cabinet meeting in the lead-up to the June 4 release of Canada's national AI strategy. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /POSTMEDIA

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Canada’s much-anticipated and long-delayed national artificial intelligence strategy promises to accelerate the procurement and delivery of AI systems across the federal government through the “Office of Digital Transformation,” though it doesn’t set a launch date or detail how the office will operate.

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The national “AI for All” strategy, which had been delayed for several months, lays out six “pillars” that broadly aim to harness the economic potential of the technology while limiting harms.

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The strategy sets several goals related to the technology, including creating thousands of AI-related jobs and helping small- and medium-sized businesses access public computing infrastructure.

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It also promises AI will be used to support public servants by reducing their administrative burden while keeping humans involved in decision-making.

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“Canadians needs to be able to develop the trust that AI will be governed in ways that reflect our values,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a June 4 news conference in Toronto announcing the strategy. “To trust that they will share in its benefits.”

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Strategy promises new AI office, innovation program

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Carney and AI Minister Evan Solomon have repeatedly committed to expanding the use of AI across the public service.

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The Carney government’s first federal budget pointed to the “integration of technology and artificial intelligence” as a key strategy for improving services, and AI is central to the government’s plans to maintain productivity while shedding thousands of public service jobs over the next several years.

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The budget included a pledge to launch an Office of Digital Transformation that will “lead the adoption of AI and other new technologies across government.” In the more than seven months since the budget was released, the government has been quiet on the status of the office.

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The national AI strategy recommitted to launching the office, though it didn’t include a timeline or any specific details around the office’s mandate, staffing or scope.

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Alongside mention of the office, the strategy promises to launch an “Innovation Fellows Program” that will recruit and deploy talent that “rapidly builds the internal muscle, operational capacity, and commercial fluency” needed to deploy AI across the government.

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“Canada will lead by example in responsible AI use within the public sector,” the strategy reads. “AI will be used to support public servants by reducing administrative burden and enabling better service delivery, all while maintaining a “human-in-the-loop” approach to ensure strong oversight and meaningful decisions and tasks.”

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Unions wary of increased AI use

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The government’s use of AI has already drawn criticism from unions. The AI-powered translation tool GCTranslate, for example, has some translators worried about linguistic rights, bias and the loss of nuance in translated texts.