AI can’t be used to qualify content as Canadian, CRTC says in updated rule

The new definition maintains that Cancon is based on the number of Canadians occupying key creative positions in a production, which can't be replaced with artificial intelligence.

The federal broadcast regulator has released a new definition of Canadian content — and it says artificial intelligence can’t qualify.

The new definition maintains the same approach as the previous one by using a system to determine whether something is Cancon based on the number of Canadians occupying key creative positions in a production.

The modernized definition expands the list of positions that count toward the total to include jobs like showrunner, special effects director and head of costuming.

The CRTC says those roles must be staffed by humans, not AI.

“Today’s decision also recognizes the usefulness and potential benefits of artificial intelligence as a creative tool to assist producers and creators. But that being said, we’ve heard concerns about the use of AI,” Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s vice-president of broadcasting, told a press briefing Tuesday.

The new definition allows productions to earn bonus points for cultural elements — identifiable Canadian characters or settings, for example, or stories based on Canadian publications.

“What we’re trying to do in this definition is broaden it so that more productions can be certified as Canadian,” said Shortliffe.

“Long-term, what we hope that will do is it will spur more collaborations, more money going into Canadian productions that will lead to more better financed, high-level, glossy Canadian productions, as well as ensuring that you continue to get small point-of-view films and documentaries and television series.”