KIND OF A BIG DEAL — For one of the hottest legislative issues Parliament will grapple with once it returns, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Researchers wrote in to warn MPs that an advanced artificial intelligence could one day go Skynet rogue and “pursue arbitrary control over the world’s resources†if Canada and other countries don’t come up with the right laws to regulate it. “On our current trajectory, once artificial agents become sufficiently advanced, if they are designed in the wrong way, they will present a large risk of causing human extinction,†write MICHAEL COHEN and MICHAEL OSBORNE, engineering science researchers at University of Oxford who sent the industry committee their own “proof-of-concept†legislation. — Not quite there yet: Existential-doom hype aside, AI is a fast-moving issue that has drawn the attention and concerns of a wide range of society groups that could be affected, be it individual jobs or the disruption of whole industries. Get ready to hear a lot about this. The warning came in one of several briefs posted by the House industry committee that have trickled in over the summer months since the contentious Bill C-27 — sprawling privacy and AI legislation which Playbook has already detailed — passed second reading in the spring. — More voices chiming in: The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada wrote to the committee in August that it’s concerned about a lack of transparency in how AI will be used in workplace evaluation, surveillance and hiring practices — and is seeking a one-year heads up on any AI-generated layoffs. “We were informed in discussions with the Treasury Board that there would be layoffs as a result of AI,†it noted among its slew of proposals. Academics also warned over the summer of the need to pick the right legal definitions, since generative AI may “inconsistently provide inaccurate or problematic medical advice.†Concerns range, but one frequent criticism lodged is that the AI section leaves a lot of key details for bureaucrats to figure out down the road. — Top agenda: With a nod to the urgency of the coming pharmacare bill, NDP MP BRIAN MASSE suggests this could become the “dominant piece of legislation in the House of Commons,†which the industry committee will pick up once it wraps up business with Bill C-34 that modernizes the Investment Canada Act. “The AI component will actually merge into many other government departments and legislation in the future,†he tells Playbook. — Inundated: Masse said the phones have been ringing off the hook on the issue and his office “just can't keep up with the amount of interest.†— Not sold yet: Masse said he has yet to be convinced on a few issues, like whether a proposed privacy tribunal would avoid legislation or potentially create more — and he doesn’t want to witness the creation of “another dumping ground for political patronage.†— Lots to dig into: Conservative MP RYAN WILLIAMS, who noted in the Commons the last time privacy legislation was updated the world was using simple CD Walkmans, tells Playbook the AI component is “a big one, certainly we’re going to spend a lot of time on it.†His biggest concern is that the bill does not state Canadians have a fundamental right to privacy, putting it out of sync with other nations’ privacy regimes and Europe’s GDPR data rules. — Changing at breakneck speed: “Just over the summer I’ve been reading about new instances, and I'm sure by the fall, we're going to see even more instances where this technology is creeping into Canadians’ everyday lives,†Williams said. Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER also notes it was drafted before the world was captivated by large language model AIs, like ChatGPT. “This is like a bill that regulates the scribes four months before the printing press was released,†she said. “It’s out of date.†She heads a cross-party parliamentary caucus on emerging technologies like AI, which over the summer heard from a range of stakeholders on this issue. — Watch for: A summary report, which should be coming out in the near future, in time to help MPs quickly get up to speed. — Personal conclusions: “What I've gathered from listening to stakeholders over the last three, four months is that there's a lot left to be desired with that part of Bill C-27,†she tells Playbook. — Expect amendments: All signs point to a flurry of proposals to revamp the bill, something signaled by opposition MPs in spring. — Open to changes: Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, who has touted the bill as a modernization of Canada’s privacy laws that will help protect children in the digital age, has hinted the government is open to amendments, although it’s not clear how far that extends. Champagne has been doing a pulse-check with key stakeholders and experts over the summer in private one-on-one talks, while his department has held round tables with academics. — Keep an eye on … The All In conference in Montreal, which runs Sept. 27-28 and boasts a speaker lineup of AI startup CEOs and top experts like YOSHUA BENGIO, lands right around the time debate could really be taking off in the Commons.
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