Meeting shines spotlight on internet safety

Concerns about status-quo literacy curriculum and website terms-of-service were repeatedly raised at a public consultation on how the provincial government can better protect internet users.

Roughly 50 people gathered in Winnipeg to weigh-in on how local governments should regulate personal data collection and artificial intelligence on Wednesday.

“The average person that selects ‘cookies’ has no idea what that means,” said Alan Campbell, a father of two and longtime school trustee who attended the evening event at St. Vital’s Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre.

Manitoba’s innovation and new technology department has hired KPMG to collect feedback and compile a report on recommendations for future AI use and cybersecurity incident reporting in the public sector.

The Public Sector Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Governance Act, proclaimed at the end of the spring session, requires government departments, agencies and funded affiliates, such as school divisions and universities, to comply with yet-to-be-finalized regulations.

Rules are being drafted against the backdrop of Premier Wab Kinew’s pledge to ban youth aged 15 and younger from accessing AI chatbots and social media.

During the “public listening session,” Mike Moroz, the minister who oversees cybersecurity, was asked “how little Manitoba is going to hold the big guys (tech companies) accountable?”

“We’re not the only people out there attempting to do exactly this… Everything’s impossible until it isn’t. We’re going to start with the public sector — we’re going to put up the appropriate guardrails,” Moroz told the crowd made up of information technology specialists, researchers and retirees.

Attendees were assured the event wasn’t being audio- or videorecorded, keeping in line with the cybersecurity theme.

“Curriculum hasn’t caught up yet and teachers need more resources to help students to understand what (AI) is and think critically about it,” one middle school teacher said.

Another educator, a researcher from the University of Winnipeg, spoke about how internet users are being tricked by “legalese”-filled terms of service.

“There’s only so much a K to 12 literacy can provide,” she said in support of her argument that the province needs to begin requiring companies to communicate in a more clear and accessible manner.

Moroz said he was in agreement that internet users should be able to opt-out of the collection of their personal data when they use an online service.

“It cannot be death-by-a-thousand-checked-boxes,” the minister said.

In an interview hours before the event, the second of its kind in recent days, Moroz said his discussions in Brandon this week reinforced his belief that residents want reassurance.

“(There’s a) need, I think, to ensure that we validate the anxiety that people are feeling about this new technology,” he said, noting he heard “thoughtful expertise” and “significant flags” at Brandon University.

Approximately two dozen people showed up to the campus in western Manitoba to share their thoughts about the AI boom’s impact on public education, among other items, on Monday. Another event is being scheduled for Steinbach later this month.

Winnipeg’s event drew representatives from city hall, the Council of School Leaders and Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees.

In addition to collecting oral feedback, Moroz’s office is also compiling written submissions on the subject.

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society recently met with the minister, who was a member who taught high school theatre, psychology and social studies before he was elected in 2023, and submitted a series of recommendations.

The union representing 17,000 public school teachers is calling for explicit rules barring the use of AI systems for evaluating its members, making disciplinary decisions and undertaking employee surveillance in the education sector.

“AI can support educators but can never replace an educator’s professional judgement. Teaching is about understanding individual students, responding to their needs and making informed decisions that support each learner,” president Lillian Klausen said in a statement.

Klausen said the subject also raises concerns about “the commercialization of public education data.”

The union’s submission calls for “meaningful human involvement” in all decisions that affect students and “strict standards” to govern the collection, use, retention and sharing of student and educator data.

For Moroz, the AI boom has highlighted the importance of soft skills, such as the ability to assess the value and quality of information.

Students need to be able to use AI as a tool “to improve their lives, to improve society,” the former classroom teacher said.

“(We need to ensure citizens) are not being worked by the tool — they’re utilizing it on their own for public good,” he said.

The minister indicated his goal is to start rolling out regulations in the “early fall.”

Moroz indicated the province is in the process of developing new digital literacy resources and updating the health curriculum “with some of those elements in it.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca