27 Comments
User's avatar
Alies Maybee's avatar

All credible journalists should use this to fact check especially when interviewing politicians.

Alies Maybee's avatar

Great initiative. Will hopefully contribute to public trust. We need something similar for health data.

Sandra Bartlett's avatar

Why is the subscription price in euros?

Northern Variables's avatar

Subscription prices are in CAD however settings on your local browser can sometimes override this.

Jack's avatar

I’m a recently retired database architect who spent close to 30 years building IT systems for the federal government in Ottawa. I’d be interested in being part of your team. Open data was one of my last projects. I agree that integrating the data sets is not easy. This is a great use of technology- thanks for doing this work.

The Great Sandini's avatar

Wow! Colour me impressed! In an age where bullshit is a pox on our world, you’re a true hero! If this works like you claim it does, it should make a significant contribution to Canadian political robustness in the future.

Tiger William's avatar

Your amazing contribution to the protection of democracy and the information space in Canada deserves to be recognized and supported. Thank you!

Entropy's avatar

What an incredible project! I look forward to exploring it.

Unfortunately, spreading misinformation and embedding it in consumers’ minds and ideologies isn’t *only* successful because people can’t find facts to verify or rebut it, though that is a big problem for sure.

First, though, the individual must *want* to validate/rebut the information, must be open to and willing to accept the answer, even if it runs counter to their ideology, their cognitive bias.

This looks to be a very useful tool for those interested in using it, prepared to accept its query results. We do need to find ways to expand that population.

jj's avatar

do you not see a serious problem with doing this less than a month after Chat GPT contributed to a mass shooting??

Northern Variables's avatar

That tragedy is devastating, and the concerns about AI safety and governance it raises are real and urgent. But CanadaGPT is a parliamentary intelligence platform, it helps Canadians understand how their MPs vote, what’s said in the House, and how legislation moves through Parliament. It’s closer to a searchable Hansard than to ChatGPT.

The risks that enabled Tumbler Ridge involved a general-purpose conversational AI with no guardrails around intimate personal disclosures — that’s a fundamentally different category of tool.

If anything, the governance vacuum that tragedy exposed is exactly why Canada needs better civic tools and better AI literacy.

Janice Dignum's avatar

This sounds great. Look forward to trying it out.

Thank you!

Cam Edwards's avatar

Thank you!

Nell Thomas's avatar

I joined. It's going to be very helpful I think!

Is there a way to see the date that an MP made a statement? I can read their statements but would like to know when were made.

Also, I can't seem to unmark a statement once I flagged it. How to unflag. Thank you.

Nell Thomas's avatar

I am very enthusiastic about this project. The AI misinformation, algorithms and bots are going to lose us this country if left unchecked.

How can I help?

Mary Norton's avatar

Wow - congratulations- I will start trying to navigate it and it is so badly needed - thank you

Grace's avatar

Thank you. I will definitely give CanadaGPT a try.

Canadian Returnee's avatar

Let me know how I can be of help

Allie 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈📚's avatar

This is amazing! Thank you for doing this work. It must have been fascinating being involved in the cutting edge of AI! Does the government know?? Can other countries access it too? Is it secure? Is Gordie named after Gord Downie?

Allie 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈📚's avatar

Aww that’s awesome 🤩 thank you! And good luck!

Northern Variables's avatar

Thanks Allie! I’m in contact with several government reps at the moment, hoping to be able to find ways to access more data and in a more timely fashion. CanadaGPT is available in other countries, and we have additional functionality on the roadmap to support those interested in understanding Canadian democracy a bit better, perhaps as a precursor to immigrating here.

And yes, gordie is a nod to Gord Downie.