AI-Assisted Diagram and Chart Generation for Public Servants

Inform

What it collects

About behaviour

Anonymized data

Text-based diagram syntax and instructions entered by public servants to describe the visual content they want generated (e.g. flowchart definitions, sequence descriptions, timeline entries).

Run by: Canada School of Public Service (CSPS)
Where: No fixed location
Kept: Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with: Not stated by the Helpful Places.

What it is for

Inform

Mermaid is a visualization tool used by the Canada School of Public Service that generates charts, diagrams, and timelines from text-based instructions. It helps public servants create visual content without requiring design expertise. The tool is developed and supplied by the vendor Mermaid. The source register entry provides minimal detail about data handling, access controls, or risk mitigations.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About behaviour

Anonymized data

Text-based diagram syntax and instructions entered by public servants to describe the visual content they want generated (e.g. flowchart definitions, sequence descriptions, timeline entries).

Processing

Language Models

Mermaid uses a domain-specific text-to-diagram rendering engine that interprets structured text syntax (Mermaid markdown) and converts it into visual diagrams. The system may incorporate AI-assisted parsing or generation capabilities.

What it does

Creating (Generative AI)

Human decides

The system generates visual diagrams, charts, and timelines from text instructions written by a user. The user authors the input and reviews the generated output before any use.

Outputs

Generated content

Anonymized data

Visual diagrams, charts, and timelines rendered from the user-provided text syntax. Outputs are used internally by public servants for communication and documentation purposes.

Run by

Canada School of Public Service (CSPS)

The Canada School of Public Service is the federal department that deploys and operates the Mermaid visualization tool for use by public servants.

Government of Canada AI Register — Mermaid

Built by

Mermaid

Mermaid is the vendor that builds and supplies the Mermaid diagramming and visualization tool used by the Canada School of Public Service.

Government of Canada AI Register — Mermaid

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data: Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data: Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data: The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides: This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes: This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous: This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

The Helpful Places has not listed specific rights for this system.

Risks and safeguards

No risks or safeguards have been published for this system yet.