🇨🇦 The Paradox of Digital Sovereignty
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The Paradox of Digital SovereigntyCanada asked 11,000 people how to govern AI. Then used American AI to read their answers.
The irony reveals something profound about power, trust, and whose future we're building.
New episode of Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy
Listen to the full episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405788/episodes/18682022 -
R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
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The Paradox of Digital Sovereignty
Canada asked 11,000 people how to govern AI. Then used American AI to read their answers.
The irony reveals something profound about power, trust, and whose future we're building.
New episode of Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy
Listen to the full episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405788/episodes/18682022Picture a wind tunnel. But instead of air, it's paper—64,600 responses flying at your face at 100 mph. Handwritten notes, technical diagrams, fears, business plans.
That was Ottawa in October 2025. The AI sprint had begun.
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Picture a wind tunnel. But instead of air, it's paper—64,600 responses flying at your face at 100 mph. Handwritten notes, technical diagrams, fears, business plans.
That was Ottawa in October 2025. The AI sprint had begun.
The paradox: To figure out Canadian AI sovereignty—to plan independence from U.S. tech giants—officials fed citizen feedback into GPT-5, Claude Haiku, and Gemini Flash.
We used American intelligence to analyze our desire to be free of American intelligence.
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The paradox: To figure out Canadian AI sovereignty—to plan independence from U.S. tech giants—officials fed citizen feedback into GPT-5, Claude Haiku, and Gemini Flash.
We used American intelligence to analyze our desire to be free of American intelligence.
What did the 11,000 voices say?
• 43% demanded TRUST & transparency
• 31% focused on EQUITY & fairness
• Top concern: "The right to know when you're talking to a machine"Not sci-fi fears.
Real fears about workplace surveillance, algorithmic bosses, & biased systems.
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What did the 11,000 voices say?
• 43% demanded TRUST & transparency
• 31% focused on EQUITY & fairness
• Top concern: "The right to know when you're talking to a machine"Not sci-fi fears.
Real fears about workplace surveillance, algorithmic bosses, & biased systems.
Meanwhile, the builders see salvation. Canada's productivity is stagnant. Brain drain to Silicon Valley is real. Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio—we invented modern AI, but can't keep the inventors.
The flywheel: Build AI → Attract investment → Create wealth → Repeat
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Meanwhile, the builders see salvation. Canada's productivity is stagnant. Brain drain to Silicon Valley is real. Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio—we invented modern AI, but can't keep the inventors.
The flywheel: Build AI → Attract investment → Create wealth → Repeat
But flywheels can spin out of control. Sarah Ryan (CUPE) warns of "bossware"—AI that tracks keystrokes, eye movements, bathroom breaks. It fires you by email when your efficiency score drops 2%.
This isn't dystopian fiction. It's already happening in some sectors. -
But flywheels can spin out of control. Sarah Ryan (CUPE) warns of "bossware"—AI that tracks keystrokes, eye movements, bathroom breaks. It fires you by email when your efficiency score drops 2%.
This isn't dystopian fiction. It's already happening in some sectors.So what's a middle power supposed to do?
Philip Ramadori's answer: "Coalition of the willing." Don't go it alone. Partner with UK, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia.
Build a democratic AI bloc with shared sovereignty. A third way between US corporate & Chinese state AI.
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So what's a middle power supposed to do?
Philip Ramadori's answer: "Coalition of the willing." Don't go it alone. Partner with UK, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia.
Build a democratic AI bloc with shared sovereignty. A third way between US corporate & Chinese state AI.
The timeline?
The next 1,000 days.That's the window where winners and losers of this industrial revolution get decided. Canada needs "velocity"—speed PLUS direction. Not just fast, but smart and coordinated.
The clock is ticking.
