Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says his job is to move āfrom fear to opportunityā when it comes to the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, but when pressed on whether he believes the exponentially advancing technology poses a risk to humanity, he wouldnāt say.
In an interview airing Sunday, Champagne told CTVās Question Period host Vassy Kapelos there needs to be transparency about the technology, and a framework in place to strike a balance between āthe anxiety of Canadiansā and the developers who want āresponsible innovation.ā
āI'll let the experts debate what it could do,ā he said. āBut my job is that we need to move from fear to opportunity.ā
āAnd you know, I think this is fundamental, because what we want is responsible AI,ā he added.
But when asked again whether he believes AI is an existential threat ā as AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio has referred to it ā or whether heās afraid of it, Champagne wouldnāt say.
āThere is a sense of anxiety, but at the same time, AI can do great things for humanity,ā he said. āIt's for us to decide what we want AI to be.ā
The federal government has been in the process of laying out its AI regulations since June 2022 with the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, baked into the larger Bill C-27, which also amends other acts as they relate to privacy.
Champagne also unveiled a voluntary code of conduct for companies that develop and manage AI late last month.
The Innovation Minister said his department has been looking at what other countries are doing in their bids to produce frameworks around AI, and as The Canadian Press reported in June, he believes Canada is āahead of the curveā in its approach.
But critics and experts have called both Bill C-27 and the voluntary code of conduct vague and opaque.
āI am hopeful it can do good things for humanity,ā he said in response to a question about whether AI scares him, and adding heās being āprudent.ā
āBut at the same time, we need to prevent the really bad stuff that you say experts have been warning us (about),ā he also said.
François-Philippe Champagne discusses his views on the risks and opportunities of AI in the video at the top of this article.
His full interview with Kapelos, which also covers his governmentās plan to stabilize food prices, will air Sunday on CTVās Question Period.
