Letters to the editor, June 7: ‘The AI revolution needs thoughtful regulation'

Globe and Mail

8 hours ago

Re 'In its bid to rescue Afghans, Ottawa is fracturing their families' (Opinion, May 31): I can only imagine the relentlessly pounding and debilitating terror one must feel while anxiously awaiting safe passage out of Pakistan.
I cannot understand why the Canadian immigration system is unable or, I shudder to think, unwilling to fix its flaw and expedite family unification on Canadian soil, given that many of these Afghans were indispensable allies for Canadians stationed in Afghanistan during the war. Perhaps a few terse pointers from Mark Carney could do the trick.
Elsewhere, nearly 60 Afghan women's rights defenders have also been hiding in Pakistan ('Afghan women activists in Pakistan fear deportation as country cracks down on refugees' – April 22). Surely the Canadian government can do something to help these courageous women escape the awaiting brutality of both the Pakistani police and the Taliban.
L.H. MacKenzie Vancouver
Re 'A real reform mandate for the first federal AI minister' (Editorial, May 31): The artificial intelligence revolution needs thoughtful regulation.
Another important AI-specific element of Evan Solomon's mandate letter should be policies to promote deployment of digital technologies by Canadian business to reskill and upskill our workforce, and to develop new products and services.
Canada lags many countries, especially the United States, with the digital economy previously estimated by the Bank of Canada to account for as little as 5.5 per cent of GDP. Moreover, research shows that Canada faces serious digital skill shortages that are impacting labour supply, business efficiencies and growth.
In the Industrial Revolution, it was the deployment of the steam engine that spurred economic growth through innovations worldwide. We should keep in mind that in the past, shared prosperity emerged only when technological advances were made to work for everyone.
Which brings us back to the importance of sound regulation.
Paul Jenkins Ottawa
Re 'How to win a trade war: Canada, Trump and a delicate dance in asymmetric warfare' (Report on Business, May 31): 'Play defence: Reform our corporate tax regime.'
One thing I am almost certain of in life is that corporate tax experts will never say such taxes are too low; they are always too high. The result is a race to the bottom, where less and less government revenue comes from corporate taxes. Where that process ends is obvious to me.
How about approaching the issue from a different perspective: Who benefits from government spending? Canada has a track record of providing a safe, law-abiding environment within which corporations and their shareholders can have confidence that business can prosper.
Should not the beneficiaries of programs requiring government expenditures to create that environment (defence spending being an example) pay their fair share of the costs? If for no other reason than to reverse income disparities between the very rich and the very poor, corporate taxes should not be cut any further.
Peter Love Toronto
Re 'How a Montreal family, a Baghdad embassy and the French government became entwined in a legal drama' (May 30): I would like to add another piece to your fascinating story on the Lawee family home being used as the French embassy in Baghdad.
In the summer of 1981, I led a 10-person team in Baghdad for the initial research phase of Canadian architect Arthur Erickson's master plan for a 3.5-kilometre stretch of the Tigris riverfront and adjacent inland areas.
Our team members were responsible for the detailed inventory and assessment of all 1,400 buildings within the Abu Nuwas Conservation/Development Project. They recalled one morning sitting in the office of our client, the chief architect of Baghdad, when it somehow came out that the French embassy was slated for demolition that day.
When they hastily pointed out that the building had been earmarked in our report as heritage to be saved, our client picked up the phone, then and there, and the destruction was halted.
Alan Bell Vancouver
Re 'The perils of keeping identity hidden from kids conceived by sperm donors' (Opinion, May 31): Contributor Aviva Coopersmith details her bumpy conception story and the excruciatingly slow pace that donor-conceived persons in Canada and the greater world endure to maybe, possibly, someday gain greater access to their genetic past so they can fully own their present and future.
My heart goes out to Ms. Coopersmith. I am the dad of a perfect two-year-old donor-conceived girl. I often lie awake at night worrying that my daughter will grow up with similar worries and wonderings.
This is why I joined the board of Donor Conception Canada, a non-profit that helps people grappling with donor conception, be they prospective parents, active parents, donors or donor-conceived persons. We are all in this together.
Joshua Levy Montreal
Re 'Cattle have roamed Cambridge's city centre for hundreds of years. GPS is keeping the tradition going' (June 4): Very charming tradition. However, one minor – major? – problem has not been mentioned.
I am talking about the rather copious amounts of 'pasture pastry' from each of the lovely beasts. How does the city deal with it: Cow diapers? Udder underwear? Just asking.
Baily Seshagiri Ottawa
Re 'I no longer knew how to find God, so nature became my church' (First Person, June 5): In a COVID-19 world, some have not returned to church. However, as rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, 'faith is faithfulness.'
Authentic worship is a discipline, an exercise. It is not only about what we receive, it is about what we give.
As the essay-writer acknowledges, there is no similar community in communing with nature. I used to say that the church would always be there when people choose to return to it. Not any more.
Many congregations struggle to survive. When people do not attend their local church, they often do not support it.
If she chooses to go back to church one day, I hope it is there for her.
Keith McKee Reverend London, Ont.
I appreciate the essay-writer's awakening to the world around her in nature. I call nature God's first scripture.
The parallels between outdoor sanctuary and wooden pews and stained glass are true: They are spaces to inspire, to inhale the spirit. I don't go to church to meet God; God is everywhere.
I go to meet others along the way, and am determined to create a space where we are awakened, comforted, tear-soaked and then sent outdoors to nature ready to bring love to feed the lost and lonely creatures of the world.
For me, there is a call to engage and transform the world, one goldfinch or silver-haired human at a time.
John Pentland Reverend Hillhurst United Church; Calgary
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