Thousands of Albertans have turned to AI for clarity ahead of the fall referendum: expert

As Albertans begin heading to the polls for advance voting, experts say thousands of people have used artificial intelligence platforms to research referendum topics.

Stephanie Husby, NorQuest College chair of science and technology, said AI is a useful tool and, if used strategically, can help Albertans further understand the referendum questions. Husby cautioned those using AI platforms to always fact-check and verify AI-generated responses.

“I think that’s what we’re seeing in the Google Trends is people are using it, they are searching for it, and they’re getting AI responses back,” Husby said. 

“My stance would be really making sure that people are using (AI) appropriately, that they understand how it works, that it’s predictive, and that it should be verified, and to use it more for asking to explore the topic, to challenge positions, to give it the instructions to disagree and to challenge where you’re coming from.” 

Husby said most AI tools will provide links to supplement answers without prompting, which is a simple way for users to verify the information. Individuals can also ask AI to provide additional sources to verify the information.

According to Google Trends, more than 20,000 Albertans searched referendum topics in the past seven days. According to NorQuest College, that number is expected to increase in the coming week.

Advance voting began on Tuesday and continues until Saturday. The last day to vote in the referendum is next Monday,  Oct. 19.

The first nine questions on immigration and the Constitution have received criticism from Albertans and experts about their complexity.

Husby said Albertans can ask AI to simplify the questions since some are lengthy. She also suggested asking AI for general information on what it would mean to vote yes or no on the topic to better understand the questions.

“AI isn’t a search engine, and so it’s important to actually engage with it more than that, and to give it more information,” Husby said.

“It helps to ask for additional context as well, so ask it to act like an expert, ask it to act like a fair-minded political opponent. So using it more conversationally and less like a search engine will allow you to get more accurate information out of it, although all information coming out of AI should be verified.”