AI fears voiced during public consultation in Brandon

Security against cyber criminals, safeguards against being tracked or monitored and limiting the role of artificial intelligence in people’s lives were some of the concerns raised during the provincial government’s public consultation on the future of AI in Brandon on Monday.

The session drew about 20 people and included multiple roundtable discussions at Brandon University’s Harvest Hall, where participants highlighted various issues to provincial staff.

Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz said it was essential to give people an opportunity to speak about what AI means in a “Manitoba context.”

He was a teacher, he said, when cellphones started becoming a part of daily life, and now governments are being forced to double back and implement regulations years later.

“We can’t afford to have that same pattern or follow that same pattern with AI. It is so much more pervasive, so much more dominant and has so many more potential ramifications than what we’ve experienced at this point in time,” Moroz, the MLA for River Heights, told attendees.

“It’s critically important that we gather as a community early in the process and start to map out what it is we want.”

The public outreach was part of the government’s process to draft regulations for Bill 51, the province’s Public Sector Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Governance Act, which came into effect in June. Another engagement session is set for Wednesday in Winnipeg.

The discussions at the three tables were led by moderators, who asked attendees questions and took notes. At the end of each topic discussion, the moderators asked Moroz a generalized question on behalf of the group and Moroz gave answers to the whole room.

The discussions also paused at times to allow attendees to ask Moroz questions.

Speaking to attendees at the session, Moroz said the “right to be forgotten” is a very common topic that he has heard, with some people saying they prefer no data collection or tracking at all. But he added that can pose problems in areas such as health care, where keeping data can help save someone’s life.

Another point raised by participants was that companies should only be allowed to track the minimum data possible, and the impact of AI on youth was also an issue.

“What do we need kids to get? We need critical thinking skills,” Moroz said. “We need them to work together in teams. We need them to have a greater sense of who they are in the world as an individual, what value they bring to the table, so they can take that value and leverage it to utilize the tool that is AI.

“This has to be part of the conversation that we’re having now while we talk about regulations around AI as it currently exists.”

How AI can help streamline the government was another topic brought up during the session.

Moroz said AI can turn a longer task — like issuing rebate cheques, which could take 20 staff 10 days to complete — into an hours-long process for a team of half the size.

Asked whether that would come at the cost of public-sector jobs, Moroz said: “That’s one of the needles that we’re going to have to thread.

“Humans are going to continue to make decisions. It will always be a human-driven deal or process, and there it’s about then redeploying those resources elsewhere where there aren’t enough,” he said.

Attendee Matteo Di Muro, a professor at Brandon University’s faculty of education, said Monday afternoon’s discussion was important as we live in a digital society.

He said he would have liked to see more talk about how the province will address AI in the K-12 school system.

Democratic participation, he added, hinges on people knowing how the world works, and there isn’t a framework in place for kids on how to use the technology safely and effectively.

“Now you’ve got AI running rampant without a lot of controls,” Di Muro told the Sun. “So, the only way to defend ourselves, you know, besides making laws for these companies, is to educate the youth about it.”

He said the discussion was a good start, but that the process felt a bit filtered.

Fellow attendee Rhoni Mohanraj described the rise of AI as a “fundamental moment” for the next 25 years, and said he was there for that reason and as a business owner. Mohanraj is the co-founder of entertainment company Trident Event Group.

“What interests me is in understanding how this applies from a business perspective and what the legislation and the government is doing about it, and then from a personal perspective, where sort of the world is going for the future,” he said.

Moroz told the Sun before the meeting that AI has introduced anxiety for everyone, and the public discussions are important to strike a balance.

“How do we thread the needle between putting up sufficient guardrails so that people feel secure in their lives with their data, in their futures, while at the same time taking full advantage of a technology that could revolutionize things like medical research?” he said.

Moroz said it’s important that the public feels engaged in the government’s process, as every person has their own experience with technological change.

The government’s first priority, he said, is to protect the public.

“How are we going to ensure that the well-being of all Manitobans are first and foremost at the core of every decision?” he said.

Moroz said the province is also working with Ottawa and paying attention to federal regulations, as they may overlap or some specific aspects around the technology can fall through the legislative cracks.

Moroz said Manitoba is “well ahead” of other jurisdictions when it comes to regulating AI.

He said as AI evolves, the regulations will need to continue to evolve as well.

“AI is changing. Those guardrails we put down today we may well need to move six months, eight months, a year from now, and that’s got to be OK,” Moroz said. “But having this community buy-in, this community participation, is how we ensure trust in the process is maintained moving forward.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com