Canada is getting into Artificial Intelligence in a big way. Prime Minister Mark Carney's recently revealed AI plan includes $2 billion in funding and the promise of creating 250,000 jobs within five years.
Opposition politicians say they’re concerned about the number of jobs promised and how many workers might end up on the losing end.
The strategy is titled "AI for All" — a vision that Carney insists is focused on creating jobs, on Canadian sovereignty and more use and adoption of AI.
When he made the announcement in Toronto, Carney described AI as the defining technology of our era but also warned about the risks posed to Canada.
"Deepfakes, unsafe chat bots, AI-generated disinformation are becoming more prevalent," he said. "The privacy of Canadians is under threat. Globally, Canada ranks near the bottom of countries in AI training, in literacy and trust. Only 12% of Canadian businesses are using AI today, and we are highly dependent on foreign suppliers for the infrastructure that powers AI; from compute to cloud to data storage."
He added that AI could even be weaponized against Canada.
Carney’s AI strategy has several goals; to help create a quarter of a million new jobs in Canada by 2031, increase the AI use among businesses from 12% to 60% by 2034, to build a world-leading super computer to boost sovereign infrastructure by 2031, and to provide all Canadians with access to free AI literacy training.
"Our strategy has three guiding principles," Carney said. "The first is trust. We will protect your data, your privacy and your children. Second: We will empower Canadian workers, Canadian business, Canadian students, with the tools to expand their knowledge, their expertise and their futures. And finally, sovereignty: We will reinforce Canadian sovereignty so Canadians can make their own choices on how AI is built, governed and used."
Earlier this year some analysts, such as Signal49 Research, projected AI and automation could lead to the loss of more than half a million jobs by 2030 as Canadian businesses reorganize. In Ottawa, the opposition Conservatives say they’re skeptical about the job creation numbers.
"We know that AI targets those jobs, particularly of young people, the ones that are getting into the market," said Conservative co-deputy leader Melissa Lantsman. "So we’ve got to make sure that we give them the tools required to overcome that."
New Democratic Party interim leader Don Davies said the AI strategy was rushed and conducted with little consultation.
"The Liberals' AI strategy announced earlier today is reckless and inadequate," Davies said. "It leaves Canadians dangerously exposed. You know, it’s entitled 'AI for All,' it’s more like 'All in for AI.'"
Part of the push will be more and bigger data centers and clouds.
Some, like Gladstone AI CEO Jeremie Harris, say Ottawa’s plans don’t go far enough.
"850 megawatts, right? That was the proposed scale by 2030 of the sovereign infrastructure build they’re looking at," he said. "That is less than 1/50th of what the private sector in the United States is expected to have online in two years."
Over the past several days, Canadians have been weighing in on the AI plan. Many want more details about how they will be protected and about any adverse effects of the technology. The strategy says its goal is also to protect children against AI risks and online dangers, but critics say that, too, is vague on details. Others say there is huge potential with AI, but with that also comes enormous risks.
