AI Sovereignty & the Literacy Gap: Policy lessons from the frontlines with Jaxson Khan

What if the biggest regret we’ll have in 10 years isn’t over-regulating AI, but failing to educate people about it? In this episode of Poets & Thinkers, we explore the intersection of AI policy, national sovereignty, and digital literacy with Jaxson Khan, a unique cross-sector leader who transitioned from startup founder to senior policy advisor for Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. From his home in Toronto, Jaxson shares hard-won insights from the frontlines of AI policy development, where he helped craft Canada’s approach to artificial intelligence across multiple critical areas.Jaxson takes us behind the scenes of government AI strategy, revealing why less than 25% of Canadians have any formal AI education despite the country being home to some of the technology’s foundational researchers. He explains Canada’s Sovereign AI Compute Strategy – a response to the brain drain that sees Canadian talent and capital flow south to Silicon Valley – and makes the case for treating AI infrastructure like a public utility. Through his current work helping nonprofits and corporations adopt AI, Jaxson demonstrates how the same technology reshaping global geopolitics can be leveraged for social good.Throughout our conversation, Jaxson challenges the notion that we need to choose between innovation and regulation, instead advocating for what he calls “meaningful consent” in privacy frameworks and emphasizing the critical importance of cultural sovereignty in AI development. His perspective bridges the technical, political, and deeply human aspects of our AI-powered future, showing how policy decisions made today will determine whether societies remain intact through this transformation.In this discussion, we explore:Why AI literacy should be treated as urgently as national defense in the modern eraHow Canada is building sovereign AI infrastructure without trying to replace Big TechThe three pillars of AI sovereignty: technology IP, data and compute, and cultural preservationWhy privacy laws that predate iPhones are a “travesty” in the AI ageHow the imagination gap is holding back traditional companies from AI adoptionWhy NGOs and government agencies must accelerate AI adoption to stay relevantThis episode is an invitation to think beyond the hype and fear surrounding AI, focusing instead on the practical policy frameworks and educational foundations needed to ensure this powerful technology serves humanity’s highest aspirations.Resources MentionedCanada’s Sovereign AI Compute Strategy “Bridging the Imagination Gap” Royal Bank of Canada white paperOECD data on international AI adoption patterns “AI is Normal Technology” by Prof. Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor“Genesis” by Kissinger, Schmidt, and MundyConnect with Jaxson Khan:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaxson/?originalSubdomain=caWebsite: https://jaxson.org/Bio:Jaxson Khan is CEO of Aperture AI, a consulting firm helping institutions in the private, public, and social sectors with AI adoption and policy. Jaxson is a Senior Fellow at the UniversSend us Fan MailFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poetsandthinkerspodcast/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/poets-thinkers/id1799627484Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4N4jnNEJraemvlHIyUZdww?si=2195345fa6d249fdSend your ideas, feedback and guest recommendations to [email protected]