Data provided by the feds revealed that the Canadian government has spent $800 million on artificial intelligence (AI) since 2023.
The $800 million includes previously announced deals. One was a $350 million public service contract with Dayforce to replace the Phoenix pay system, and a $240 million investment in Canadian AI company Cohere. Additionally, the $800 mllion also includes a few hundred dollars for ChatGPT subscriptions and multimillion-dollar contracts with other countries.
Global News reports that Conservative MP Jagsharan Singh Mahal requested that all government departments, agencies and Crown corporations offer information on their AI-related contracts, subscriptions, and licenses; however, not everyone complied with the request.
The report also reveals that Public Services and Procurement Canada and Innovation Canada were the top spenders because of the Dayforce and Cohere agreements. Following those two, National Defence spent $83.7 million, and the Canada Revenue Agency spent $29.9 million.
The RCMP didn’t have its AI spend details available in a centralized database, and further, the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service didn’t provide the requested information.
Source: Global News
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