Alberta government is eyeing AI to write laws for the first time

“Write legislation that lays out the rules for the ‘Alberta Whiskey Act’ and what Alberta whiskey can be.”

While the real question will certainly be more complex than that, an Alberta minister says the government is considering using AI technology to draft upcoming legislation.

Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally has been asked to create the layout The standard for “Alberta Whiskey”, and he said the work represents the right kind of test case for the growing technology.

“It’s significant, but there’s no heart or lungs involved,” Nally said. “There are no lives being lost. And because this is the law that will outline the process from grain to water and how things are distilled, if a mistake is made, we can certainly correct it.”

Nally said he met with Alberta Technology Minister Nate Glubish and Justice Minister Mickey Amery to make sure everyone was on board with the idea.

Nally said, “Everyone is in agreement. Minister Amery will have his team examine it after it’s completed. So if there are any mistakes, there will be a little off-ramp, an opportunity to course-correct.”

“But we’re quite excited that you can actually use AI to write laws right now.”

It’s also exciting to potentially be the first jurisdiction in Canada to use AI in this way, Nally said.

The governments of British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon told CBC News they are not currently using AI to draft legislation, while others had not confirmed by publication time.

A statement from the BC Ministry of the Attorney General said, “While we continually explore tools that can improve efficiency and clarity, this process remains a human-led legal function to ensure accuracy, consistency on the statute book, constitutional compliance and alignment with government policy.”

AI expert says human touch still needed

jonathan shafferAn emeritus professor of computer science at the University of Alberta and former The Canada Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence, sees the move as “innovative and unprecedented” – as long as appropriate safeguards are in place.

,As we all know, we’ve seen a lot of news where people have used AI indiscriminately to do something, and it’s full of factual mistakes, and usually someone gets embarrassed by it,” Schaefer Said.

Using AI to draft legislation is “fine,” Schaefer said, as long as humans take responsibility with the process. He said, humans should understand what the law says, what is lacking in it and what needs to be corrected.

“They also have to put it in the context of Alberta. The AI ​​is trained on knowledge of the world, so it has a huge amount of information,” he said.

“Many of the things it is trained on and may include in legislation may not be right for the sensitivities of our country, our province, or the Alberta culture or mindset.”

proof of concept

Nally was assigned this task in October defining the rules A product must be legally labeled as Alberta whiskey.

The government is currently consulting industry on what the definition should be. Of course, “Alberta whisky” means different things to different people.

Look What is Alberta whiskey made from?:

Alberta whiskey could become a thing – legally

Kentucky Bourbon, French Champagne or even Mexican Tequila are all iconic drinks known for their region of origin. Does Alberta whiskey deserve a place on that shelf?

Keenan Pascal, CEO of Edmonton-based Hansen Distillery, said he’s excited by the prospect of Alberta better representing its products internationally.

For Pascal, “Alberta whisky” has a lot to do with the province’s special ingredients and environment.

“If we go to Japan and go internationally, Canadian whiskey already has a very good profile,” Pascal said.

“Now this Alberta story is another extension of this amazing history of whiskey making.”

Should AI be used to write whiskey regulations, Nally said the legislation would still be subject to all levels of approval to ensure checks and balances.

“We can go down this path and say, yes, it was great, but we wouldn’t do it again, right? Or we can say, wow, this is something that needs to be included,” Nally said.

“It wouldn’t get rid of the legislative writer, but it would certainly be a supplement.”

Nally said he hopes whiskey regulations will be on the legislative agenda this spring.