TORONTO — Ontario’s privacy commissioner and human rights commission say the province should put in place “effective guardrails” on the public sector’s use of artificial intelligence technologies.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Ontario Human Rights Commission say in a joint statement today that the government must urgently develop “robust and granular” rules so it can reap the benefits of AI technologies in an ethically responsible manner.

The two bodies say AI technologies have great potential to benefit society, but they can be unsafe when not properly governed and may unlawfully collect personal information.

They say that even with de-identified information, AI technologies can perpetuate biases and lead to negative effects on marginalized people or groups.

As well, they say some AI systems can create flawed or inaccurate content, raising concerns about accountability.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery did not immediately provide a comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2023.

The Canadian Press