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AI-Assisted Policy Research for Transport Canada

Research & Development

What it collects

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Users uploaded nonclassified documents such as reports into the platforms. No personal information was involved. Inputs were policy documents and research materials used to prompt the AI tools.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Run by
Transport Canada (TC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Research & Development

Transport Canada ran a structured experiment in 2024 to test AI tools — specifically the Athena platform and ChatGPT — for policy research tasks such as trend identification, information gathering, and document summarization. The tools were used by government employees and were not used to make decisions about members of the public. No personal information was collected or processed.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Users uploaded nonclassified documents such as reports into the platforms. No personal information was involved. Inputs were policy documents and research materials used to prompt the AI tools.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Processing

Language Models
  • ChatGPT (a large language model by OpenAI) and the Athena platform were the core processing engines. They processed text prompts and uploaded documents to generate summaries, analysis, and trend reports.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

What it does

Creating (Generative AI)
Human decides
  • ChatGPT and Athena were used to generate summaries, draft text, and produce written policy research outputs. Human analysts reviewed and used the generated content; no outputs were applied automatically.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • The Athena platform specifically was used for broad international scanning, trend identification, and data gathering — analytical functions that score and surface relevant information for policy analysts to review.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Outputs

Generated content
Anonymized data
  • The primary outputs were AI-generated text: summaries, research briefs, trend analyses, and drafted policy content. These were reviewed and used by Transport Canada policy analysts — no personal information was included in outputs.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Run by

Transport Canada (TC)
  • Federal government department responsible for transportation policies and programs. Deployed and administered the AI shadow experiment for internal policy research purposes.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Built by

Athena and OpenAI
  • Two AI platforms were evaluated: the Athena platform (which sources international information and data) and ChatGPT (a general-purpose large language model by OpenAI). Both were tested for policy research support tasks.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Not available to me
  • This system was used only by Government of Canada employees for internal policy research. Outputs were internal documents not accessible to the general public.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

Available to the accountable organization
  • Generated outputs (summaries, research briefs, trend analyses) were available to Transport Canada employees who conducted the experiment.

AI Register 2526-TC-004

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

  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyThis system was used exclusively by Government of Canada employees and did not process personal information about members of the public. The experiment is documented in the Government of Canada AI Register (record 2526-TC-004), which is publicly accessible.

Risks and safeguards

  • Societal & cultural harmReliance on AI-generated policy research could introduce biases, errors, or gaps in international sourcing that propagate into policy decisions.Safeguard: The experiment was structured as an evaluation with human analysts reviewing all outputs; findings were assessed for quality and accuracy before any use in policy work.