[acc-cca-l] Public opposition to 30 AI Sprint / People's Consultation on AI

[Fenwick Mckelvey]

[△EXTERNAL]


Hi all
I'm writing to let you know about a Canada-wide civil society initiative, spearheaded by several civil liberties and digital rights organizations and individuals who were active on Bill 27's Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), to protest the federal government's thirty-day "National Sprint" on AI, and ask if you or your organization would be willing to sign a joint letter to that effect.

We explain in the letter, among other critiques, that thirty days is an unreasonably short window of consultation given the far-reaching scope and depth of AI's impacts on society; canvas the wide range of known AI-related harms that are already evident today; and ask for a deadline extension to February 2026. For me, the short timeline does not address concerns raised in my own research around the lack of meaningful public engagement on: https://www.amo-oma.ca/en/ai-policy-report/ and https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s00146-024-01952-w

We are also setting up a parallel civil society process, the People's Consultation on AI, so that those whose input should be considered but do not have capacity to meet the government's rushed timeline, will still have an opportunity to have their say.

The sign-on form and letter itself are available here: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/jYtfY12tSWH-oYCUGBv06BDpLm97LNcVEayPOBv32Js/

Please note that signing the letter does not mean committing to participating in the People's Consultation on AI, and that a French translation will be available in the upcoming days.

If you could circulate this letter to other individuals and NGOs you believe would be interested, in particular those who may not have been previously involved in tech or AI issues but whose communities are or would be impacted, that would be greatly appreciated.

Let me know if you have any questions, and thank you so much for considering!

Be good,
Fenwick
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