AI's power, pitfalls, and potential

We’re all using AI more, but how many of us actually trust it? AI is now used by more than a billion people worldwide, but trust in these systems is far from settled. In this episode of Disruptors, John Stackhouse speaks with Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award winner, founder of Mila, and Co-President and Scientific Director of LawZero, about whether AI is getting safer or more dangerous as it becomes more powerful, more agentic, and more embedded in work, public systems, and everyday life. They explore LawZero’s mission to build non-agentic, trustworthy AI, including Scientist AI, and why Bengio believes the next generation of artificial intelligence should be designed to reason, evaluate, and supervise rather than independently pursue goals. John is also joined by Jaxson Khan, Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, to discuss AI sovereignty, the risks of dependence on foreign cloud and compute infrastructure, and what Canada should be thinking about as it prepares its next national AI strategy. This is a conversation about AI safety, Canadian AI sovereignty, trustworthy AI, and who should shape the systems that are increasingly shaping us. Yoshua Bengio’s work through LawZero offers one of the clearest Canadian answers yet. Show notes links Episode guests and organizations Yoshua Bengio LawZero Jaxson Khan Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy Referenced reading RBC Thought Leadership RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn Sovereign by Design: Strategic Options for Canadian AI Sovereignty Bridging the Imagination Gap: How Canadian companies can become global leaders in AI adoption CONNECT & SUBSCRIBE: • Follow RBC Thought Leadership on LinkedIn • Follow John Stackhouse on LinkedIn • For more insights visit RBC Thought Leadership