Hon. Katherine Hay: Honourable senators, the launch of AI Explained happened this morning. I know you are probably happy about that because your daily emails will be a lot fewer now. My deep gratitude to Tyler Anderson and Armughan Ahmad — extraordinary Canadians moving the needle and truly living proof of AI for good in Canada. I am proud to call you my friends. Thank you both. We just scratched the surface today, but that is no small gift.

We also heard directly from Minister Solomon, whose planned 5-to-8-minute opening became 45 minutes. The minister was informal, direct and honest about how Canada is positioned and where we must go. A few principles stayed with me that I thought I would share.

First, “AI” is an initialism for “artificial intelligence” but also “ancestral intelligence.” I love that.

Second, we are in an age of pragmatism and political realignment to ensure that our rules-based world order remains sound and steeped in Canadian values.

Third, AI must be Canadian — built, empowered, protected and sovereign under Canadian law.

Fourth, AI moves at the speed of technology — which is warp speed — but adoption moves at the speed of trust. Only 12% of Canadians currently use AI. That is the work in front of us.

One thing became very clear: The strategy about to launch is not simply a good thing to do; it is critical. We need to be bold. Steady state is not an option. Claude would agree.

Let’s talk about Claude. I’m sure he is listening. Claude is not just Senator Bernie Sanders’s go-to agent. He is mine too. I have asked Claude about AI and quantum, where U2’s world tour is going to be and for tax and health advice. That’s a lot of data about me. Generative AI is not just coming. It is fully here. It is moving. It is fast and will not wait for us.

As the great philosopher Senator Colin Deacon might say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Canada is the best country — full stop — to lead in this space. We have the talent, the institutes, the energy and the values. Canadian values are our competitive advantage.

As Senator Kutcher might remind us, it is a brave new world.

Stay tuned, folks. More emails are coming. Session two covers national security and sovereignty. Be there or just talk to Claude. I do recommend joining, though, because human-to-human communication is always better. Thank you. Meegwetch.