Canadian body calls for disclosure of AI use by security services
Kyiv • UNN
Canada's National Security Transparency Advisory Group called for disclosure of information on the use of AI by security services. The group also suggested amending legislation to oversee the use of AI by federal agencies.
A federal advisory body in Canada has called on the country's security services to disclose information about the current and future use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and software applications. In a new report, the National Security Transparency Advisory Group also suggested that the government consider amending legislation to oversee the use of AI by federal agencies, Castanet reports, according to UNN.
Details
Established in 2019, the group continues to work to increase transparency and accountability in the national security sector, which is an important part of the government's openness program. The Canadian security services have expressed support for the idea of openness, but emphasized that the specifics of their work limit the possibility of public disclosure. Nevertheless, they are already actively using AI to perform various tasks, such as document translation and threat detection.
The report also emphasizes the importance of informing the public about the goals and objectives of security services, particularly when cooperating with the private sector, to avoid distrust. One of the key challenges is the difficulty of explaining how AI works due to the lack of transparency of machine learning algorithms and models.
Canada has already released guidelines on the use of AI and proposed the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, which is currently being considered by parliament. However, the law does not apply to government agencies such as security services, which has led to recommendations from the advisory group to expand its scope.
The report also mentions a case from 2021 when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police broke the law by using facial recognition software, leading to the creation of the Technology Implementation Program to assess whether data collection methods comply with privacy laws.
Public Safety Canada reported that the report's recommendations had been passed on to the relevant authorities, but did not specify whether or when they would be implemented.
