"More than a year ago, the federal government published the Voluntary Code
of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced
Generative AI Systems.
[1] While AI offers many advantages, such as automated
drafting, answering complex questions, generating realistic images or videos,
or making decisions otherwise reserved for individuals, it entails significant
risks to health and safety, can propagate bias, and carry the potential
for serious societal impacts, particularly when used by malicious actors.
It’s telling that even the pioneers of artificial intelligence are wary of the risks
it presents. In early 2023, over 350 AI industry leaders signed a declaration[2]
urging the international community to make it a priority to mitigate the
risk of “extinction” posed by AI, placing such risk on a par with a pandemic
or nuclear war. Since this standstill did not take place, it is safe to assume
that the urgency to act is even greater today, as Yoshua Bengio, one of the
signatories of this call for a moratorium, expressed it in an interview with
Québec-based publication Les Affaires.
[3]
Aware of the need for a robust framework to manage and mitigate these
risks, the federal government invited companies to adhere to the Code,
which outlines:
> measures that should be applied in advance of binding regulation
pursuant to the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act;
> as well as additional measures that should be taken by firms developing
or managing the operations of these systems that are made widely
available for use, and which are therefore subject to a wider range of
potentially harmful or inappropriate use.
The purpose of this proposal is to invite the Board of Directors to decide
whether the company should adhere to this Code of Conduct."