National security agencies should explain how they're using AI: federal advisory body

A federal advisory body is calling on Canada's security agencies to publish detailed descriptions of their current and intended uses of artificial intelligence systems and software applications.

In a new report, the National Security Transparency Advisory Group also urges the government to look at amending legislation being considered by Parliament to ensure oversight of federal agencies' use of AI.

The recommendations are among the latest proposed by the group, created in 2019 to increase accountability and public awareness of national security policies, programs and activities.

The government considers the group an important means of implementing a six-point federal commitment to be more transparent about national security.

Security agencies are already using AI for tasks ranging from translation of documents to detection of malware threats. The report foresees increased reliance on the technology to analyze large volumes of text and images, recognize patterns, and interpret trends and behaviour.

As use of AI expands across the national security community, «it is essential that the public know more about the objectives and undertakings» of national border, police and spy services, the report says.

«Appropriate mechanisms must be designed and implemented to strengthen systemic and proactive openness within government, while better enabling external oversight and review.»

The 'black box' problem

As the government collaborates with the private sector on national security objectives, «openness and engagement» are crucial enablers of innovation and public trust, while «secrecy breeds suspicion,» the report says.

A key challenge in explaining the inner workings of AI to public is the «opacity of algorithms and machine learning