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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is clarifying his remarks that he uses “11 AI agents” to do a lot of his work, saying it’s in a strictly personal capacity.
Sim had praised the efficiency of AI tools at the Web Summit in Vancouver on Tuesday, saying he expects AI to be 64 times better in three years.
He said he uses AI agents to do a lot of his work “in the background,” but online critics including rival mayoral candidate Kareem Allam questioned whether he was sharing government data or residents’ personal information.
The clip first came to light when CBC Municipal Affairs Reporter Justin McElroy posted about it on the BlueSky social media platform — with Allam and other critics chiming in thereafter.
Sim said in a statement on Wednesday that the AI agents or tools he used were on a personal computer that has never been brought to city hall or connected to its networks.
He said the tools were never used to make city decisions, access confidential information or perform municipal tasks.
“As mayor, I take privacy, security, and public trust very seriously. Vancouver residents should know there is a clear separation between my own personal experimentation with emerging technology and the work of the city,” read the statement.
WATCH | Sim clarifies his remarks:
Ken Sim clarifies his claim that he has 11 AI agents doing work for him
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim made waves earlier this week when he said he was using 11 artificial intelligence agents to help do his work. He’s since clarified, saying he uses them for his personal work. The CBC’s Justin McElroy has more on what the mayor said, and why AI is front of mind this week.
Sim said he used AI technology for personal learning, scanning news, tracking global and financial events, following “thought leaders,” and dietary planning.
“It’s clear that those spreading misinformation and speculation could discourage investment in Vancouver’s growing technology sector,” reads the statement, in which Sim encourages people to “keep learning new skills.”
Eby uses AI for home maintenance
Asked if he too used AI tools, B.C. Premier David Eby said he used AI to fix his broken toilet.
Eby told an unrelated news conference on Wednesday that he used AI tools “mostly at home” for chores.
“Claude assists me hugely in fixing our family’s leaky toilet. I am not a skilled trades worker by any stretch, but was hugely appreciative of the chatbot’s advice about how to fix our toilet,” said Eby.
B.C. Premier David Eby, left, said that AI agents aren’t yet functional enough to provide useful advice for politicians. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
Eby said he doesn’t think AI tools are “currently at a place to provide useful political or strategic advice for the province of British Columbia.”
Nevertheless, he encouraged legislators to experiment with AI chatbot.
“I think that part of being an elected official means understanding both the threats and the opportunities of new technologies as they arrive, and it’s not something that people automatically feel comfortable engaging with,” said Eby.
He likened the process of exploring AI tools to meeting constituents to understand their daily experiences.
“The more that you have hands-on experience with various tools, with different groups of people, the better politician you’re going to be, because you’re going to understand the context in which you’re making these decisions,” said Eby.
Sim has previously championed tech developments, proposing to diversify Vancouver’s financial reserves and make the city “bitcoin friendly” in a 2024 motion.
But city staff later reported back that they had “conclusively determined that under the Vancouver Charter, bitcoin is not an allowable investment asset for the city.”