Teri-Anne Bowyer is Constituency Manager for MLA Justin Wright in Cypress-Medicine Hat and has worked in Alberta politics since 2019. Views expressed are her own.Something remarkable happened in Alberta recently that tells you everything you need to know about where we're headed and the resistance we're facing.One of our Cabinet ministers used artificial intelligence (AI) to help draft the upcoming Alberta Whisky Act — legislation designed to give our distillers the same legal protections that make Kentucky bourbon and Scotch whisky world-renowned brands. The AI analyzed global whisky regulations, helped produce a first draft, which then went through legislative drafters, Justice Ministry review, Cabinet approval, and will face full public debate by every MLA before becoming law.The response? Someone included it in a recall petition, claiming the minister "advanced AI-generated legislation without public consultation."Let that sink in. We're being attacked not for cutting corners, but for using modern tools to do the job better and faster — while maintaining every traditional safeguard. This isn't reckless innovation. This is exactly what responsible government should look like in 2026.But here's what makes this story so revealing: it's not an isolated incident. It's emblematic of a broader resistance to progress that threatens Alberta's future. And the irony is, it's often coming from the very people who claim to champion innovation and environmental responsibility.The Selective Technology SkepticsThe story of whisky legislation exposes a fascinating contradiction. AI is apparently fine when it's writing marketing copy, diagnosing medical conditions, optimizing supply chains, or recommending what you should watch next on Netflix. But when it helps government lawyers draft better legislation faster — cutting development time by up to 80% while maintaining full oversight — suddenly it's dangerous?Think about the safeguards in place: legislative drafters review every clause, Justice reviews for legal errors, the Cabinet must approve, and every MLA will debate and vote on the final product. That's more oversight than most private sector AI applications receive. Yet somehow this becomes grounds for a recall petition..This is selective skepticism at its finest. The same people who happily use AI-powered services every day suddenly become Luddites when that technology might make government more efficient and responsive. They want the benefits of innovation — just not in any form that challenges their political narrative.The Data Centre Double StandardWe're seeing the same pattern with Alberta's emerging role as a data centre hub. People want unlimited streaming, cloud storage, AI assistants, and instant access to global computing power. But they don't want to acknowledge where that computing power actually lives.Data centres aren't theoretical. They're the physical infrastructure that exists somewhere. And Alberta is strategically positioned to be that somewhere — with reliable energy, a cooling climate, political stability, and business-friendly policies. This is economic diversification. Something that Albertans constantly seek — especially those who want to diminish the role of fossil fuels in our economy. This is future-proofing our economy beyond resource extraction.Yet the same voices demanding digital transformation turn around and oppose the infrastructure that makes it possible. It's NIMBY thinking applied to the digital economy: "We want the cloud — we just don't want to see where it actually rains."Alberta can either seize this opportunity or watch it go to jurisdictions that understand what the twenty-first-century economy requires. Opposing data centres while demanding better digital services isn't principled — it's contradictory.The Energy Paradox: Baseload Reality vs. Renewable FantasyBut nowhere is the "back to the dark ages" thinking more literal than in energy policy.Let me be clear: we will eventually need to move beyond fossil fuels. That's not in question. What's in question is whether we get there through technological advancement or through magical thinking.Wind and solar are part of our energy future — but only when we solve the fundamental problems of storage and baseload stability. Right now, we don't have that technology at scale. We don't have batteries that can store summer solar energy for winter demand. We don't have solutions for when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine..What we do have is reliable baseload power from natural gas and other sources that keeps hospitals running, heats homes in February, and can power the data centres. Demanding we abandon that before we have viable alternatives isn't environmental responsibility — it's a recipe for blackouts, economic chaos, and genuine human suffering.The honest conversation should be: "We need reliable power now while we develop the technology to make renewables dependable later." That's progress. That's innovation. That's actually caring about outcomes rather than just virtue signalling.Instead, we get demands to hobble our economy with immature technology, justified by apocalyptic rhetoric about saving the planet. But here's the thing — you don't save the planet by making reliable energy unaffordable or unavailable. You save it by advancing technology to the point where clean energy is also reliable energy.Progress Requires All the ToolsThe through-line in all of this is simple: real progress means embracing new tools while maintaining what works. It means using AI to draft better legislation faster. It means building the infrastructure our digital economy requires. It means developing renewable technology while ensuring we have baseload power today.What it doesn't mean is selective innovation — cheering for technology that fits your political preferences while opposing the very tools and infrastructure that make modern life possible.Alberta has always been a place that builds things. That solves problems. That doesn't apologize for prosperity or progress. We punch above our weight economically because we're willing to embrace what works, invest in what's coming, and ignore the naysayers who would rather we stay small and dependent..The Alberta Whisky Act is a perfect microcosm of this mindset. Our distillers saw an opportunity. They need legal protections to compete globally. The government used the best available tools to help them succeed faster. And now they'll get the same advantages that made Scotch and bourbon into premium global brands.That's the Alberta advantage in action.We can either continue down this path — using AI to govern smarter, building the infrastructure the future requires, and developing energy solutions that are both clean and reliable — or we can listen to voices that want us smaller, slower, and more dependent on others.Some people seem determined to send us back to the dark ages, all while claiming they're saving the future.Alberta deserves better. And Albertans know it.The choice is ours: embrace the tools and opportunities of tomorrow, or apologize for wanting to compete in the modern world. I know which path leads to prosperity, and it's not the one that treats AI-assisted legislation as a scandal or reliable energy as a crime.It's time we stopped letting fear of progress masquerade as a principle. Alberta's best days are ahead of us — if we're brave enough to build them.Teri-Anne Bowyer is Constituency Manager for MLA Justin Wright in Cypress-Medicine Hat and has worked in Alberta politics since 2019. Views expressed are her own.
