OTTAWA—Canada’s artificial intelligence strategy is titled “AI for all.” AI will make our lives better, easier, and happier—just so you understand. This evangelical strategy sounds like, well, church. Canada’s strategy even has an evangelical tactic: if you are scared of AI then it’s really your problem because you lack literacy and understanding about its beauty and sacredness. 

Your federal government wants you to get over your lack of literacy, get in line, get in the pew. The similarity to the old Indian residential schools policy is eery. Build the country by building them into contributing citizens. Overcoming their resistance is the first step. Church-dependent, AI-dependent. You can’t tell which one this references, right? 

There’s likely low risk with targeted AI bits that limit email spam or help manage your daily schedule (as long as you have no questions about privacy), but this is about generative AI systems that outperform human decision-making without ethics or accountability. Then there’s the non-consensual deepfakes, surveillance, and demise of privacy; health-care AI that doesn’t understand cultural safety; and the complete lack of transparency of it all. 

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