A recent poll has revealed that a significant majority of Canadians, approximately 85%, want the government to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure its safe and ethical use. This demand for regulation stems from concerns over AI's potential impact on society, including job displacement, deepfakes, and misinformation.
Many Canadians believe AI threatens human jobs, with 78% worried about the technology's potential to automate roles and displace workers. Additionally, Canadians are concerned about deepfakes, manipulated videos, and audio impersonating real people, which have been used to spread false endorsements by politicians and celebrities. A staggering 91% of Canadians fear AI can manipulate opinions and elections, with 40% believing this is already happening.
Privacy and security are also major concerns, with 83% of Canadians worried about large language models scraping most information from the internet. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has warned about AI-generated voice and text scams targeting citizens by impersonating officials to steal money or information.
Despite these concerns, the Canadian government seems to be shifting its focus towards maximizing AI's economic benefits. AI Minister Evan Solomon has indicated a move away from "over-indexing on warnings and regulation" to balance economic benefits with risk management. However, many Canadians want stricter regulations, with 57% of those surveyed strongly supporting government oversight.
Canadians are divided on AI's overall impact, with some viewing it as beneficial, others seeing it as harmful, and many unsure about its impact. The poll highlights the need for clear regulations and safeguards to address these concerns and ensure AI is used responsibly in Canada.
