Guidelines for government procurement of AI in Canada

The World Economic Forum published its overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI) procurement last month: see our blog on its toolkit and the UK’s related guidelines. Canada does not yet have a similar guidance. However, steps are being taken to address emerging technologies, such as AI and the role these can play in government procurement. The Treasury Board’s “AI Procurement for a Digital World” sets out high-level process guidelines to “eliminate bias, be open about how AI is informing decisions, and ensure potential benefits are weighed against unintended results.”

The Canadian Federal Government has also published its commitment to the “Responsible use of AI“. The Government’s Guiding Principles for the “Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence” are meant to guide the Government in the effective and ethical use of AI. The Guiding Principles Include:

• understand and measure the impact of using AI by developing and sharing tools and approaches
• be transparent about how and when we are using AI, starting with a clear user need and public benefit
• provide meaningful explanations about AI decision making, while also offering opportunities to review results and challenge these decisions
• be as open as we can by sharing source code, training data, and other relevant information, all while protecting personal information, system integration, and national security and defence
• provide sufficient training so that government employees developing and using AI solutions have the responsible design, function, and implementation skills needed to make AI-based public services better