Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood (he/him) • Political economist @policyalternatives.ca • Climate, AI, industrial policy 🌎💡⚙️🇨🇦
The question for Canadians is not only whether we believe in the “promise” of AI, as the federal government puts it, but whether we believe that the promise is worth it. My latest for @nationalobserver.com: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/28/o...
AI is doing more harm than good. Canada needs to slow downRacing to adopt AI serves no one but the tech industry. It’s time the federal government recognized that.www.nationalobserver.comCanada is trading real and immediate harms for speculative long-term benefits. We need to think twice about the race to adopt AI indiscriminately across every sector of society and the economy. Major new @policyalternatives.ca report on AI: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Think twice: A citizen’s guide to artificial intelligence in Canada | CCPACanadians need to think twice about the promise and inevitability of artificial intelligence and be prepared to push back on the AI industrywww.policyalternatives.ca"AI adoption raises homework scores by 18% and reduces completion time by 30%, but lowers monthly exam scores by 20% within six months. High-stakes entrance-exam scores fall by 18 and 24%." On the AI penalty for students: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Generative AI Learning Penalty: Evidence from Chinese Secondary EducationUsing 30 months of panel data on 26,811 Chinese students in grades 7-12, we study how generative AI affects homework productivity and learning. The data combinepapers.ssrn.comSuch a pleasure to chat with @parismarx.com about the federal AI strategy!
Paris MarxCanada is replicating the mistakes of other countries in going all in on AI without thinking clearly about the harms that could be unleashed on society in the process. It was great to chat with @hadrianmk.bsky.social to learn more about Mark Carney’s AI strategy and the many problems it presents.
"If these are harmful platforms, which I think is the correct assessment, we need to regulate them for everyone and not just kids." Me on @ctvnewsregina.bsky.social: www.ctvnews.ca/regina/video...
Canada May be Banning Social Media for Kids Under 16 Years OldHadrian Mertins-Kirkwood from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives joins to discuss the pros and cons of the potential change.www.ctvnews.ca"Generative tools present a precarious trade: the acceleration of surface-level competence at the expense of incremental struggle—the mental equivalent of building a house on sand." thewalrus.ca/chatgpt-isnt...
ChatGPT Isn’t Just Changing How We Work. It’s Harming How We Think | The WalrusNew research says the cognitive costs of AI may be higher than we realizethewalrus.ca10 seconds into reading the new federal AI strategy and already rolling my eyes at "AI is rapidly becoming a foundational driver of economic growth, productivity, industrial capability, and geopolitical influence." ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en...
Canada’s national Artificial Intelligence strategy: AI for Allised-isde.canada.ca"Canada itself, and not just our oil and gas companies, risks a massive strategic miscalculation in all this. We risk a future where the world economy has passed us by." www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
Opinion: The world is moving off fossil fuels as Canada continues to live in the pastCanada must keep pace with the global energy transition – otherwise, our energy crisis may just be getting startedwww.theglobeandmail.comSneak (leaked?) preview of the federal AI strategy. Not sure when it goes officially public. Lots of details here: www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Draft federal AI strategy aims to scale up adoption, offer literacy training by 2031 | CBC NewsA draft version of Canada's national AI strategy outlines a drive to scale up business adoption and provide all Canadians access to free AI literacy training, but is short on specifics regarding how t...www.cbc.caIs it "sovereignty" if AI infrastructure is built in Canada but it's still owned by U.S. tech companies? Is it "sovereignty" if it's owned by Canadian companies but not the public? What is the threshold for true sovereignty? Me in @nationalobserver.com: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/25/n...
Ottawa wants CPP investments in 'sovereign' AI, but some wonder if it's even safeSince taking office last year, the Carney government has made building "sovereign" AI central to its efforts to boost the economy and reduce Canada's dependence on the US. But some observers question ...www.nationalobserver.comThe federal government has released its long-delayed electricity strategy: natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sourc...
Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy - Natural Resources CanadaDoubling our electricity systems to deliver clean, reliable power, support growth, and reduce emissionsnatural-resources.canada.ca