The use of AI is already found in lecture halls, assignments, emails, and presentations throughout university and professional work.
On Sept. 9, the Government of Canada launched the AI Literacy Initiative. It consists of a $13 million program in partnership with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) that is offering a free, three-hour AI literacy course to post-secondary students at any university that joins the program and partnership.
The program has been launched under “AI for All,” which is Canada’s national AI strategy, created under Mark Carney for the purpose of sharing the benefits of AI with citizens across the country rather than large corporations.
“Foundational AI literacy is essential to safe and confident use, whether at school, at work, at home, or in the community,” the Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, said in a government strategy release.
The literacy programs will be targeting different demographics through three channels. The first is built specifically for post-secondary students, with the free three-hour course covering ethics and applicable uses.
The second channel targets K-12 students by releasing six chapters of “Essentials for Educators,” intended for teachers to provide to their students in the classroom.
Lastly, “Essentials for Canadians” will launch nationwide later this year through different community channels and the federal job bank.
The government is predicting that the initiative will be reached by one million post-secondary students and more than 3,000 K-12 teachers across the country.
These optimistic numbers come as earlier this summer a joint KPMG and University of Melbourne study concluded that Canada ranked 44th out of 47 countries in AI literacy. This ranking is particularly alarming to the federal government, and the national AI literacy initiative is the most direct attempt to address this issue yet.
Queen’s has already built its own AI framework, taking a “measured and values-guided approach to the use of” AI. The framework was made using the input of more than 2,200 faculty, staff, and students through the generative AI needs assessment in 2025.
Queen’s AI literacy page defines literacy as more than just understanding how to use the tools, but also allowing for smart judgement when deciding when and how to use AI. The University has also acknowledged that AI is reshaping how knowledge is being processed and evaluated, stating that AI literacy is a long-term institutional priority.
According to the Queen’s Gazette, Eleftherios Soleas, the special advisor to the provost on Generative AI, is creating AI literacy modules and a guideline framework for the upcoming year through opinions from students and staff that highlight which topics are of most ethical concern.
Whether Queen’s will join the federal initiative has not yet been confirmed, as enrolment opens on Sunday.
As Minister Solomon wrote in the “AI for All” strategy: “Canadians want safe, reliable, and sovereign AI. They want the best tools to build a prosperous future guided by our values. That is our plan.”
The program is beginning to roll out across Canada, with more information available online.
Tags
AI, AI literacy, digital literacy, Literacy
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