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Canadians Call for "Heavy" AI regulation, But 74% Doubt Any Government Can Keep Up With The Technology, Finds Survey

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As the Canadian federal government prepares to unveil its national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy this week, Canadians are asking governments to take a firm hand with the technology, finds Angus Reid Institute in a survey.

At the same time, the survey published on Tuesday found Canadians expressing profound doubt that public institutions are equipped to move quickly enough to keep up.

The survey of 1,680 finds two-thirds of Canadians (68%) adamant that it is the place of government to heavily regulate AI and tech companies, even if doing so slows development. One-in-six (16%) disagree and say that the government should leave this up to tech companies to self-regulate.

However, with technology and implementation changing rapidly, many Canadians are even more skeptical of the government's ability to both regulate and successfully utilize AI, adds the Angus Reid survey. Three-quarters (74%) say no government is truly equipped to regulate AI quickly enough to keep pace with the technology, while just 14% have faith that it can be done.

Canadians are also wary of the physical infrastructure required to power the AI boom. While nearly half (46%) say Canada needs domestic AI infrastructure to keep digital services under Canadian control, two-thirds (68%) would oppose a large AI data center being built within a few blocks of where they live.

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