WATCH: COPE calls for moratorium on AI data centres, regulation of AI use at city hall, in schools

Artificial intelligence has become a major political issue as of late as governments grapple with regulating and utilizing the rapidly-evolving technology.

In Vancouver, COPE has been leading the charge against AI and the infrastructure required to power it.

On Thursday, the party unveiled its AI platform, pushing for a moratorium on data centres and disclosure of "significant AI use" by those in power at city hall.

"When Ken Sim gathered with other levels of government to announce two new AI data centres in Vancouver, he famously told the crowd that he has 11 AI agents doing 'a lot' of his work running in the background," Councillor Sean Orr said during a press conference downtown. "While he said this was not for city work, the point remains, AI is here — our elected officials, our staff, and the public are already using it. The question is whether we're going to ignore it, or whether we're going to put rules in place around transparency, privacy, accountability, and human oversight."

Orr noted that he had drafted a motion to address those concerns, but that Sim cancelled the last standing committee meeting and thus it went unheard.

"My motion called for the creation of a comprehensive acceptable use of AI policy that would govern the use of AI tools by all elected officials, their staff, and city employees," he said. "We need to require privacy safeguards, and disclosure of significant AI use, and establish consequences for elected officials who break these rules."

Fellow city council candidate Solomon Yi-Kieran shared more about the party's position on AI data centres.

"No one in our communities asked for these data centres," they said, "and it’s our communities who will bear the costs while tech bros and CEOs rake in the profits.”

WATCH: New AI data centres to be built in BC as feds push for ‘digital sovereignty’

“We can’t run a sovereign AI strategy on someone else’s servers, governed by someone else’s rules, and in someone else’s jurisdiction.”

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The two new data centres in question — developed and built in partnership with Telus and Westbank — were first announced in May. They will be located at 150 West Georgia Street in the heart of downtown, and 111 East 6th Avenue in Mt. Pleasant.

"It's not one company, it's not one project — it's the infrastructure that Canada needs to compete ... not just in the age of AI, but to build the economy of the future at a time when the political realignment is happening as fast as the technological acceleration," AI Minister Solomon said at the time.

COPE also vowed to look into AI use in schools.

School Board Trustee Suzie Mah lamented that the use of Microsoft AI software was recently "rolled out without [the board's] consent," and argued that elected officials "need to take the time to reflect, put a pause on everything, and come up with some policies that actually have some teeth, and look at what the educational impacts are."

"What we're saying ... is not that we don't want our students to know about AI," Mah added. "What we want is our students to be able to learn critical thinking skills, to identify truths vs. myths, being able to do their research and knowing how to do their research – possibly using AI — looking at AI as a tool to help with adaptive or other means of learning which may help students with diverse learning needs."

She warned against rolling such technology out simply because it's there, and said adults have a responsibility to ensure the next generation doesn't become reliant on it.

WATCH: Protest against AI data centres in Vancouver draws hundreds

Many expressed aversion to artificial intelligence itself, arguing that the costs of the technology outweigh the benefits.

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There have been a number of protests against AI in Vancouver over the past few months, largely organized by youth.

Yi-Kieran argued that it is not a partisan issue.

"When I go door-knocking, when I go canvassing, when I have our AI petition, you’ll see people from all classes, all backgrounds, from all across the city who don’t want to see these data centres go up, who don’t want to see AI in schools," they said. "I think it's a sensible position that I think the majority of people are going to have."