Province seeks leader to helm AI use in public sector

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is scouting a leader to oversee artificial intelligence use within the public sector.

A new executive director of AI and data will be tasked with promoting AI, machine learning and analytics in government and business, a job posting reads.

“It was really important, with an emerging technology like this, that we have our own in-house expertise,” said Innovation Minister Mike Moroz.

Resumés are incoming, he said, noting there is no timeline for the new hire.

The province is already using artificial intelligence in some capacity.

About 7,000 applications for Manitoba’s security rebate program were first filtered through AI.

The technology flags missing application information, allowing for submitters to get faster responses, Moroz said. Staff process applications down the line.

“Decisions are still being made by human beings, but AI gives us an opportunity to shorten wait times,” the minister said.

“The model we’re working with here is: better services, faster delivery, smarter government.”

Other application-based programs, accounts payable and procurement processing could incorporate AI in the future, a government spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Manitoba isn’t tracking wait times for application turnarounds with and without AI deployment; a spokesperson couldn’t compare the difference.

AI use won’t lead to public-sector job cuts, Moroz stated: “This really is about how people do their jobs more efficiently.”

Civil servants have access to Microsoft Copilot, an AI chatbot. The province pays $140,000 annually for 285 staff to use an advanced version.

Manitoba has shuffled employees, and hired new ones, to staff its innovation and new technology department. The branch launched last year; it now has 284 full-time employees. The executive director of AI and data is a new position.

Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, welcomes the initiative but said the province would face struggles due to vacancies across departments.

“The information (the government is) looking to run AI on won’t be available because there’s no one there to produce that information,” Ross said, adding he’s less concerned about job cuts.

The union represents about 12,500 provincial government workers.

Using AI in application processing is fine as long as human decision-making reigns, he said.

Ramping up artificial intelligence use will be a communications challenge for the province, said David Gerhard, head of the University of Manitoba’s computer science department.

“The province is going to need to be clear on what tools are being used and what data those tools are applied for,” Gerhard said. “The person who is hired into this executive director position — that kind of communication, I assume, will be one of their important first jobs.”

The Manitoba Innovation and New Technology department is tasked with managing sovereign AI and data initiatives. Developing AI and data governance frameworks is in the executive director’s job description.

Ethicist Arthur Schafer said that was a relief, noting Canadians’ data can be stored on servers in other countries, such as the United States.

“Given our prime minister’s recognition of our vulnerability to domination by an American government … I think it’s really important that Canadian health-care data, Canadian data of all kinds, be stored on Canadian servers with access to that data restricted to Canadians,” said Schafer, a U of M professor.

The innovation and new technology department requires expertise in a rapidly developing field, Schafer noted. He questioned whether the province will need to hire consultants — and pay millions — to further its goals.

Manitoba Public Insurance recently axed its technology overhaul after the project cost estimate ballooned by 50 per cent. Around $165 million had already been spent.

Schafer said he’s not cynical about the government’s ability to operate a tech department, but such projects can “go very badly wrong.”

The new executive director will align with Manitoba’s innovation and prosperity report, released in October, said report co-lead Jim Balsillie.

The report recommends Manitoba build capacity for AI and data storage. It’s an economic opportunity and a protection mechanism, the former chairman of Research in Motion (BlackBerry) said.

“Operating with urgency is really important,” Balsillie continued.

The new position garnered approval from Tech Manitoba and the Council of Canadian Innovators, which Balsillie chairs.

“The job description could be a little more focused on ensuring federal-provincial alignment,” said Jess Sinclair, the council’s director of government affairs for the Prairies. “One province has limited scope to do some of this on their own.”

The European Union has AI factories dotted across the continent but Canada hasn’t reached the same level of collaboration, Sinclair noted.

Ontario launched a digital and data directive for its public service in 2021. Alberta is in the midst of implementing a new privacy management program.

The Manitoba department’s executive director will be responsible for fostering collaboration with government and industry, the job posting reads.

The private sector is still largely taking a “wait and see” approach to AI, said Kelly Fournel, Tech Manitoba’s CEO.

“It’s really important for Manitobans not to be left behind,” she said. “If we can get them curious and off the sidelines, I think that bodes very well for Manitoba.”

The executive director of AI and data’s salary ranges from $102,168 to $128,647 annually, the job posting reads. The advertisement’s closing date says Dec. 8, 2025; however, applications continue to be taken, Moroz said.

» Winnipeg Free Press