“In the years ahead, there may well be no greater test

of our leadership than how we deal with AI.”     

—US President Joe Biden

“This changes everything!” If you follow AI, you’ve likely seen this tagline a few too many times—but this time, it’s true. Reasoning AI has arrived, and it will redefine our world. The question now is, how? Answering it well is the challenge ahead—and a unique opportunity to renew Canada’s Senate. Let’s consider how and why.

What is Reasoning AI?

OpenAI o1-preview was released three weeks ago. This isn’t just a better chatbot—it’s a step change that realigns AI’s capacities. Reasoning AI works methodically, breaking down problems into logical steps and analyzing each to find the best solution or goal.

Perhaps this sounds underwhelming. Couldn’t AI always reason through problems? How did it write papers or argue with people? No, a chatbot doesn’t exactly reason—or more accurately, it has no way to check its reasoning.

When humans tackle difficult problems, they recheck each step for errors like inaccurate information or misunderstandings. Good planning involves verification. That’s what makes it reliable.

Chatbots are prone to error because they lack the ability to check their reasoning. So, even if they’re accurate 97 percent of the time, the remaining 3 percent limits their usefulness. They can’t be trusted to handle important tasks alone. Everything must be checked.

Reasoning AI solves this by thinking step by step. While OpenAI o1 isn’t yet flawless, it’s very good—and more importantly, we know how to improve it. As this capacity grows, errors (“hallucinations”) will disappear, and AI’s ability to solve problems and form plans will expand.

This means we’ll soon trust AI to execute real-world tasks for us. And that changes everything.

Autonomous Agents

Here are a few quick examples:

• Personal assistants will soon be able to fix computer glitches, organize files, manage household finances (including paying bills and investing), and plan vacations.
• Municipalities will use Reasoning AI to manage traffic. It will draw on real-time data from traffic cameras, GPS, and transit networks to make split-second decisions, reroute vehicles, and ensure smoother flows.
• Autonomous drones could patrol combat zones, using Reasoning AI to assess activity and potentially launch strikes if required.

While conventional chatbots can execute most of these tasks, they aren’t reliable. Errors mean we can’t link them to systems like bank accounts or military drones without keeping humans in control. Reasoning AI will change this—and in doing so, it will change our world.

A Watershed Moment for Governments Everywhere

Experts agree that an explosion of autonomous AI agents is imminent, much like the proliferation of computer apps in the 2000s. It will start with personal assistants but quickly expand. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg foresees “hundreds of millions or billions of different AI agents” doing everything from fixing minor glitches to managing complex corporate workflows.

This is more than technological change—it’s a paradigm shift that will transform societies and economies, forcing governments to respond. Adapting to this shift requires more than regulation. New infrastructure will be needed to ensure AI access, workforce adjustments must be managed as automation reshapes industries, and national security concerns will have to be addressed. AI will soon be as central to government agendas as energy, healthcare, or industry.

Perhaps most urgently, AI literacy is still low—even within policy circles. For instance, when Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Montreal last week to discuss AI cooperation, not a single journalist raised a question on the topic. Canadians at all levels must be brought into this conversation—while there’s still time.

The Senate’s Role: A Unique Opportunity

This is where Canada’s new Senate has a unique chance to shine. Unlike the House of Commons, the Senate isn’t constrained by electoral cycles, giving it the freedom to focus on long-term planning and cross-jurisdictional discussions. This will be essential as Canada navigates the societal, economic, and ethical implications of AI.

If the Senate aims to redefine itself as a non-partisan, independent institution providing “sober second thought,” Reasoning AI is the ideal issue. It demands deep reflection on Canadian values and the kind of society we want to build. Leading a nationwide dialogue on AI would establish the Senate as a pan-Canadian forum for broad, thoughtful policy leadership.

This approach would also help build public trust in both Parliament and AI. Trust starts with understanding, and the Senate could make a critical contribution by leading public consultations, hosting expert panels, and engaging with civil society. This would bring Canadians into the AI conversation, ensuring their voices are heard and helping to inform and legitimize the government’s evolving AI policies through a broad, pan-Canadian dialogue.

Will the new Senate rise to the occasion? Will it seize this moment to help lead Canadians into an AI-driven future? The Senate may never have a more critical opportunity to provide sober second thought. Canadians need it now more than ever.

Don Lenihan PhD is an expert in public engagement with a long-standing focus on how digital technologies are transforming societies, governments, and governance. This column appears weekly.