Canada’s National AI Institutes are at the forefront of the country’s mission to translate research in artificial intelligence into commercial applications, and to grow businesses’ capacity to adopt these new technologies. Many of these projects have a public mission and exhibit many of the characteristics of public AI. This short document details the progress of Canada’s National AI Institutes on public AI so far, as well as opportunities for further progress.
What is Public AI?
Public AI describes an approach to artificial intelligence development and use that promotes the common good. Public AI has three key features: public access, public accountability, and permanent public goods.
- Public Access – Certain capabilities are so important for participation in public life that access to them should be universal. Public AI provides affordable access to these tools so that everyone can realize their potential.
- Public Accountability – Public AI earns trust by ensuring ultimate control of development rests with the public, giving everyone a chance to participate in shaping the future.
- Permanent Public Goods – Public AI is funded and operated in a way to maintain the public goods it produces permanently, enabling innovators to safely build on a firm foundation.
Public AI can play a key role in helping Canada and the world confront its biggest challenges by expanding access to the tools of responsible innovation. For more information about public AI, see Public AI: A New Approach to Public-Interest AI Investment, a whitepaper from the Public AI Network.
