Prosperity’s Path: OpenAI has shown it cannot be trusted. Canada needs nationalized, public AI

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-openai-tumbler-ridge-chatgpt/

Publish Date: 2026-03-01 16:00:00

Nathan Sanders is a data scientist affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. Bruce Schneier is a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Munk School at the University of Toronto.

They are the authors of Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Politics, Government, and Citizenship.

This essay is part of the Prosperity’s Path series. In a time of geopolitical instability and a shifting world order, the challenges facing Canada’s economy have only gotten more visible, numerous and intense. This series brings solutions.

Canada has a choice to make about its artificial intelligence future. The Carney administration is investing $2-billion over five years in its Sovereign AI Compute Strategy. Will any value generated by “sovereign AI” be captured in Canada, making a difference in the lives of Canadians, or is this just a passthrough to investment in American Big Tech?

Forcing the question is OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has been pushing an “OpenAI for Countries” initiative. It is not the only one eyeing its share of the $2-billion, but it appears to be the most aggressive. OpenAI’s top lobbyist in the region has met with Ottawa officials, including Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon.

All the while, OpenAI was less than open. The company had flagged the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooter’s ChatGPT interactions, which included gun-violence chats. Employees wanted to alert law enforcement but were rebuffed. Maybe there is a discussion to be had about users’ privacy. But even after the shooting, the OpenAI representative who met with the B.C. government said nothing.

Open this photo in gallery:

People attend a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. OpenAI had flagged the shooter’s troubling ChatGPT interactions prior to the tragedy, but employees who wanted to alert law enforcement were rebuffed.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press

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