CALGARY — Premier Danielle Smith has reiterated her government’s desire to position Alberta as a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) amid ongoing public concerns over the impacts of rapid technological change.Speaking at an event hosted by the Rotary Club of Calgary on Thursday, Smith highlighted the province’s progress with AI and the UCP government’s efforts to address public anxiety about large-scale data centre projects.She said concerns around electricity demand, job losses, and water use are becoming more common among Albertans as the sector continues to grow, adding that the province is requiring developers to generate their own electricity.“If you want to build here, build your own power, and if you build some extra, sell us some,” Smith told the audience at the Fairmont Palliser, arguing that the approach would prevent strain on the grid and shield Albertans from rising costs.Another major concern tied to data centres is water consumption, which, according to the premier, may be mitigated through new technologies.Smith cited a recent $4.5-billion acquisition of an Alberta-based company developing alternative cooling systems that reduce or eliminate water use as an example.“[It’s] pretty amazing that that technology was built right here,” Smith said, pointing out that a future way of addressing water use would be to find “alternative solvents able to do cooling,” which she felt was going to become “more common.”.Smith says Alberta’s energy advantage crucial for AI data centres, global demand.However, she did state that one of the most difficult concerns her government has had to address from Albertans is the potential impact AI could have on jobs.“There’s a nervousness about whether AI is going to replace people,” Smith said.She argued instead that AI will increase productivity rather than eliminate positions, citing internal government examples provided by Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish.Smith cited one case in which a government employee used AI tools to consolidate government contract data — a task estimated to take 15 months — in a matter of minutes.“You didn’t replace a person, you’re just making them more productive,” she said, adding that the examples from Glubish’s ministry demonstrated how AI could augment workers instead of replacing them.“No one's lost their job, but now everybody's become that much more productive.”The province is also expanding its “AI Academy,” a training platform designed to help public servants and residents develop AI skills.According to Smith, more than 1,700 provincial employees are already enrolled, along with about 300 federal workers.“We think our job is to make sure that everybody has access so that they can train themselves up and think about their own area of expertise and how they can apply this technology and then be a leader,” Smith stated.“AI is not gonna replace people, but people who know how to use AI are going to have an advantage over people who don't know how to use AI.”
