Colin Bennett on Use sortition (random selection of citi…

Colin Bennett

Professor of political science at the University of Victoria and scholar of privacy, data protection, and AI governance.

Citizens' assemblies can play more than the role of getting feedback from ordinary citizens about what they think about these issues. Citizens are going to be exposed to this and are being exposed to it constantly, but they're also going to be hurt by it. Your constituents are going to be denied, and are being denied, rights and services because of decisions that are made in automated machines without proper human oversight. Citizens' assemblies, I think, can play a very critical role here.

AI Verified (Mar 23, 2026)

Source:

Colin Bennett, testimony to Canada's House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, March 23, 2026, p. 12.

2mo ago

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Use sortition (random selection of citizens) to staff AI oversight boards

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AI Verified Bennett explicitly says citizens' assemblies can play a critical role in AI governance; this strongly supports staffing AI oversight bodies through citizen assemblies. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified The quote advocates citizens' assemblies as a critical AI-governance mechanism, so the recorded 'for' answer is supported. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified Verbatim testimony by Colin Bennett in Canada's House of Commons INDU committee evidence, 23 Mar 2026 (pp. 11–12); source transcript confirms attribution and wording. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 2mo ago

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Colin Bennett votes For

AI companies should be liable for harms caused by their deployed models

The real liability, in my view, is building AI systems and products that harm users, including children, without any measures to hold accountable those systems and the companies that build and deploy them.

AI Verified source (Mar 23, 2026)