Public Statements

Public Statements Canada Neutral perspective

What I learned hosting community forums on AI

Neutral Posted by Harriet Kowalski Reading time ~ 2 min

This is community opinion, not fact. Moderated before publication.

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Over the past six months I have hosted a series of public forums at our community center on artificial intelligence. I am not a technologist. I am a retired civil servant who was asked to moderate because I can run a meeting. I want to share, neutrally, what I heard. People are curious. Many attendees came in with strong opinions shaped by a single news story and left with more questions than answers, which I count as success. The concerns crossed political lines: jobs, children, privacy, energy use, and the feeling that decisions are being made somewhere far away. The enthusiasms also crossed lines: people who found these tools useful at work, people who used them to understand medical paperwork, people who simply enjoyed talking to an assistant. What struck me most was how few attendees had been asked, in any formal setting, what they thought. These are not small questions and the public deserves to be part of the conversation, not just informed of the conclusions. If I have a request for policymakers and for companies, it is to create more venues for ordinary citizens to weigh in. A town hall is a blunt instrument. It is also better than silence. I will keep hosting these and I hope others do the same in their own neighborhoods.
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