85 Percent of Canadians Favour AI Oversight by Government, Survey Finds

The vast majority of Canadians support the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), a new survey suggests.

Eighty-five percent of respondents polled by Leger between Aug. 22 and Aug. 25 said governments should regulate AI tools to ensure ethical and safe use, with 57 percent strongly in favour of such regulation. Only 8 percent were against regulation and 7 percent were uncertain.

The survey found support to be highest among older Canadians, with 87 percent of those 55 and older supporting AI regulation.

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon has said he will put less emphasis on AI regulation and, instead, focus on finding ways to harness the technology’s economic benefits. Solomon said during a speech in June that Canada would move away from “over-indexing on warnings and regulation” to ensure the economy benefits from AI.

Regulation isn’t about finding “a saddle to throw on the bucking bronco called AI innovation,” Solomon said at the Canada 2020 summit in Ottawa in June. “But it is to make sure that the horse doesn’t kick people in the face. And we need to protect people’s data and their privacy.”

The administration of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed a bill for AI regulation aimed at “high-impact” systems, but Bill C-27 did not become law before the election was called. Mark Carney’s government has not made it clear if the bill will be re-introduced.

AI Use on Rise

The Leger poll indicated a 10 percent increase in AI usage since March. Notably, 57 percent of respondents reported they had used an AI tool in the most recent survey compared to 47 percent in the spring poll.

Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed expressed concern that AI tools pose a threat to human employment, while 46 percent said they worried the use of AI in their daily lives could make them “intellectually lazy” or result in a decline in their cognitive abilities.

Canadians also expressed strong concerns about AI spreading false information during elections and lacking the emotions and empathy to make good decisions.

Eighty-three percent or respondents expressed privacy worries and the fear that society will become too dependent on the technology, while 78 percent were concerned about the use of AI to spread false narratives during elections. Seventy-three percent also voiced concern about AI being susceptible to fraud or hacking.

Canadians also voiced opposition to children’s exposure to AI.

More than 70 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the use of AI in children’s devices and toys, adding that AI chatbots should be banned from products intended for children.

While 48 percent said they would trust AI as a tutoring or teaching aid for their children, only 18 percent were onboard with such tools replacing teachers in the classroom.

Canadians were also leery of AI being used to provide medical information, offer mental health support, or to dole out financial or legal advice.

More than 60 percent of those polled were open to the use of AI for completing tasks at home such as playing music or adjusting the thermostat.

Leger polled 1,518 people between Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, but a margin of error cannot be determined because the survey was conducted online.

The Canadian Research Insights Council, the professional organization for the polling industry, states that online surveys cannot have a margin of error assigned to them because they don’t randomly sample the population.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.