Opinion: EU-Canada summit a historic opportunity to promote transparent AI

Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after delivering a speech in the hemicycle at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 17. Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

In the face of threats to territorial, economic, cultural and digital sovereignty, as well as the fracturing of the international rules-based system and the geopolitical rupture, thousands of trusted news and magazine titles on both sides of the Atlantic believe the 21st EU-Canada Summit is a critically important opportunity for two key international partners to build resilience via concrete shared commitments to hold platforms to account.

Article content

Article content

Based on a leaked draft “EU-Canada Joint Summit Statement,” much progress is expected to be made at the summit in areas such as defence and security, critical resources and digital research and communications technologies.

Article content

Article content

Article content

In her 2026 state of the union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, “I am an optimist that AI has the potential to benefit humanity — if we get it right. But, as with any powerful new technology, AI comes with a balance of possibilities and risks. Without addressing these risks, we will never be able to unlock AI’s possibilities.” She also underscored the need to safeguard “our democratic fabric and free media.”

Article content

Speaking to the European Parliament in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney adroitly warned, “Technology platforms increasingly seek to act as sovereign powers. They want to dictate the rules of regulation — and even circumvent them. They want to control our data, spread misinformation and steal our children’s childhoods.”

Article content

He noted that, “Together, Canada and the European Union can anchor our ground to hold our values while forming a protective canopy under which our citizens can thrive.”

Article content

Article content

The question is: what should that protective canopy for our combined population of nearly 500-million people look like?

Article content

Article content

The bolstering of democratic resilience and sovereignty requires a firm, shared commitment by Canada and the EU to free, independent, pluralistic and sustainable media and reliable professional journalism, underpinned by enabling frameworks. Said commitment ought to be fully reflected in the summit’s final joint statement, as the independence and robustness of our democratic information environments hinges on this.

Article content

Furthermore, the summit should be an opportunity to underscore both the important opportunities and the key challenges AI presents to creative and cultural industries, including the longstanding lack of transparency over the use of content and enforceability gaps. Deceptive and unidentified automated bots, web crawlers and AI agents are operating at increasing scale and with impunity across the digital environment.

Article content

Canada and the EU must work together to promote a transparent AI ecosystem that respects intellectual property rights, supports licensing and appropriate remuneration, and enables creators, publishers and other cultural and creative businesses to control and realize the value of their works.