Canada is creating a national advisory body on artificial intelligence, bringing together some of the world’s best-known minds on the technology — including Montreal-based AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio — to help the government shape responsible policy.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the 13-member council on Friday, describing it as an effort to keep the fast-moving technology under democratic control at a moment when even its creators are warning about the risks.
A heavyweight roster
The council’s headline name is Yoshua Bengio, one of the founding figures of modern deep learning. In an interview last month, Bengio cautioned that “we’re losing control” of AI systems and argued the global community needs guardrails comparable to nuclear non-proliferation treaties.
Alongside him, the panel brings together academics, executives who have led private-sector technology companies, and a former national security adviser from the previous government. The prime minister’s office said the group will “provide independent, practical advice on Canada’s AI transformation.”
Managing risk, seizing opportunity
Carney framed the council’s mandate in deliberately balanced terms: to help his government “manage the risks, seize the opportunities, and ensure AI is used to improve the lives of all Canadians.”
The move comes amid growing global unease about the technology’s trajectory, from fears of rogue autonomous agents to warnings from researchers that advanced systems could pose an existential threat to humanity within a decade. Canada has long punched above its weight in AI research — Toronto and Montreal are home to world-class labs — but policymakers say the country now needs a formal bridge between cutting-edge science and public policy.
What concrete recommendations the council will produce remains to be seen, but its creation signals that Ottawa wants AI governance to be designed deliberately rather than improvised after the fact.
Source: 24 News HD