Federal government’s voluntary AI code of conduct gets eight more signatories

OTTAWA — Eight more organizations have signed on to the federal government’s voluntary code of conduct for artificial intelligence.

The organizations include computer manufacturer Lenovo, software firm Salesforce, credit card company Mastercard and enterprise systems business Kyndryl.

Among the Canadian signatories are the Toronto tech hub MaRS Discovery District, virtual tutor operator Alloprof, consulting firm Levio and Quebec’s real estate brokers organization.

Adopters of the code launched last year must agree to undertake several measures aimed at reducing the risks of AI, including screening data sets for potential biases and monitoring systems for potential harms.

While big AI names like Cohere, Mila and the Vector Institute previously agreed to the code along with tech firms like BlackBerry, IBM and Telus, others have criticized the guidelines.

Shopify Inc. founder and CEO Tobi Lütke has said he won’t support the code because he says the country doesn’t need any more “referees” and instead needs to encourage people to build companies in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2024.

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The Canadian Press