OTTAWA — Two prominent parliamentarians are launching a new group to study policy and issues around artificial intelligence, Web3 and other emerging technologies. Here’s what you need to know.

The plan: Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner and Liberal-appointed Independent Senator Colin Deacon co-chair the new parliamentary caucus on emerging technology. The group hopes to convene every week or two to hear from industry representatives, civil society groups and academics working in or on disruptive fields. 

Current parliamentary and legislative processes aren’t designed for this era of innovation, the co-chairs told The Logic in interviews Friday. “We’ve been confronted as a country with very obvious examples where the speed of government has not matched the speed of technological change,” said Rempel Garner, citing cryptocurrencies and large language AI models like the ones behind ChatGPT. 

Lawmakers can use the meetings of the new caucus to learn about and discuss the risks and rewards of such technologies and how other countries are addressing them, in a non-partisan, bicameral forum. 

Take the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), part of the Liberal government’s Bill C-27 tabled in June 2022. When the bill was up for debate in the House of Commons, “there was a lot of behind-the-scenes conversation between legislators [saying], ‘I really need to come up to speed on this,’” Rempel Garner said, noting that AI could create economic opportunities, but also disinformation, and will impact cybersecurity and warfare. “I don’t really think there’s necessarily partisan positions staked out on a lot of [tech] issues.”

Enacting a new law can take years, “and who knows what iteration of a technology we’ll be on once that framework gets into place?” Deacon noted. For example, ChatGPT went into wide release five months after AIDA’s introduction, kicking off an AI arms race among the world’s biggest tech companies, and raising questions about whether the proposed legislation addresses such developments.

The caucus isn’t a formal committee with the power to summon witnesses and amend legislation. But “if we come up with some ideas that make sense, [we could] figure out a plan for proposing them amongst a broader audience of parliamentarians,” Deacon said. At least eight senators from three of the main upper-chamber groups have joined the caucus, he said, while Rempel Garner said MPs from all parties have already participated. Both declined to name members.

The origin story: The two co-chairs have been talking tech for some time. Deacon said Rempel Garner proposed the notion of the new caucus during a conversation about ChatGPT. 

Both have publicly engaged on innovation issues. Deacon is a frequent voice in the tech press, calling for Ottawa to implement an open banking system and adopt digital tools for its own service delivery. Rempel Garner was an early parliamentary mover on Web3, engaging with industry and moving an ultimately unsuccessful private member’s bill in February 2022 to push the finance department for policy to encourage the growth of crypto assets.

The immediate reaction: The Council of Canadian Innovators, a scale-up lobby group, welcomed the new grouping. “It is imperative that this caucus build bridges to industry as well as regularly speak to leading Canadian practitioners who are commercializing tech in the marketplace today and helping drive the next wave of technological progress responsibly,” Nick Schiavo, director of federal affairs, said in a statement.