Tech Support

Newly minted Minister of AI Evan Solomon has accepted a precarious portfolio: promoting the power of AI without letting it annihilate us all

- BY COURTNEY SHEA

ChatGPT tells me your new role as the minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation is focused on government digitization and encouraging the private sector to adopt AI. Can I get a fact check?

That's partly right. Prime Minister Carney decided to create the Ministry of AI based on the idea that this tech is as transformative as the printing press. Having a dedicated ministry means we can support the tech’s growth. My job is to develop a sovereign AI strategy while asking, “How can we make sure it causes more good than harm?”

Has this sovereign policy been in the works for a while?

For too long, Canada has been a farm team for the US: our best minds can’t get funding, so they leave. Our new strategy will foster more homegrown research. It will also invest in high-potential companies. Ottawa has invested $2 billion into building domestic data centres, which are essentially digital storage facilities. Today, most centres—and the data they store—are owned by American giants like Meta. We want to ensure that Canadian data benefits Canadians.

Prime Minister Carney has said that AI will build the economy of the future. Are we talking science fiction here?