Federal Liberals announce billions to build Canada's AI capacity
CTV
The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence.
The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday.
The bulk of that -- $2 billion -- is going into a fund that will aim to provide access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.
Trudeau made the announcement at a Montreal AI firm as part of a pre-budget tour.
He said the government will begin consulting with industry soon on a new AI Compute Access Fund and an accompanying strategy to grow the sector in Canada.
"We want to help companies adopt AI in a way that will have positive impacts for everyone," Trudeau said, adding that $200 million will go toward boosting the adoption of AI in sectors like agriculture, health care and clean technology.
The government plans to launch a $50-million AI safety institute to protect against what it calls "advanced or nefarious AI systems," and another $5.1 million will go toward an Office of the AI and Data Commissioner to enforce the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Bill C-27 is the first federal legislation specifically aimed at artificial intelligence. It would update privacy laws and introduce new obligations for "high-impact" systems.
