Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 6, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba THINK TANK COMMENT EDITOR: RUSSELL WANGERSKY 204-697-7269 ● RUSSELL.WANGERSKY@WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A7 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2025 Ideas, Issues, Insights The paradox of powerful dual-use technologies H ISTORY is full of new inventions being repurposed for war and ill-intent. The dif- ference now is the speed and scale at which this is happening. Societies today are seeing a mind-boggling rollout of new, versatile consumer electronics and digital business products. These are essential for increasing collective wealth and prosperity. But they are also creating novel, unpredictable security risks. Dual-use technologies are items with both civilian and military usefulness. Think artificial intelligence (AI), or drones, robots, self-driving vehicles, virtual and augmented reality, cloud storage and predictive analytics software. Even advanced semiconductors and satellite internet. And soon — quantum computing. Each of these holds vast potential to improve lives and help solve the world’s most pressing problems. But there is a dark side. They are also accelerating conflicts and creating new vulnera- bilities at the global, national and local levels. The most obvious example is drones. Off-the- shelf consumer models have proliferated. Some are available online for just a few hundred dol- lars. Farmers, conservationists, filmmakers and many others have benefited from using them. Yet so have militaries and terrorist groups. Much of the ongoing fighting in Ukraine has evolved into a laboratory of drone warfare pow- ered by AI. And state and non-state actors world- wide have taken note. Governments are scram- bling to adapt to how to protect their populations in a hostile world against possible future attacks. Late last year, a wave of mysterious sightings of suspected drones near critical infrastructure in the northeastern U.S. caused widespread panic. Federal officials ultimately dismissed the sightings as benign. But the episode revealed alarming cracks in America’s domestic emergen- cy response system. Officials are also struggling to grasp the risks posed by AI. The technology will spur innovation, turbocharge productivity and unlock human capi- tal in countless, unimaginable ways. The upside is absolutely enormous. Although AI will also herald whole new catego- ries of risk — possibly existential, argue some ex- perts. Many cite the growing hostilities between the world’s two nuclear-armed tech superpowers, the U.S. and China. Yet such fears might be misplaced. “The real existential threat ahead is not from China,” two technologists wrote in January for the MIT Technology Review, “but from the weaponization of advanced AI by bad actors and rogue groups who seek to create broad harms, gain wealth, or destabilize society.” These outcomes could manifest themselves in all sorts of ways, large and small. Terrorist groups may harness AI to create bioweapons or launch crippling cyberattacks. Or lone-wolf extremists and disillusioned citizens could use it to lash out in anger. Electoral politics could become poisoned by deepfakes. The possibilities are endless. Silicon Valley’s influence and culture seep- ing into politics is creating a parallel dilemma: authorities and individuals increasingly view tech as a cure-all for complex issues. Belarusian writer Evgeny Morozov has coined this fallacy as “techno-solutionism.” In reality, a blind rush to adopt cutting-edge tools can squander resources and aggravate pre-existing problems. A recent Free Press investigation, for example, shows the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has used its tactical robot dog for operations just once in nearly three years. Instead, “Spot,” as it’s known — purchased for $257,000 from an Ameri- can company, for use confronting barricaded and armed suspects — has been deployed more often as a public relations prop. The WPS has defended the acquisition as a means to protect its officers — but only in very select circumstances. And its leadership won’t elaborate on what those are. Citizen surveys meanwhile suggest only 45 per cent of city residents approve of police perfor- mance amid a spike in violent crime. That’s plum- meted from 64 per cent just five years ago. But a high-tech robot dog doesn’t aid in crime prevention. The experiences of law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, New York and Hawaii have already proven that. Spending a quarter-mil- lion dollars on something the average person con- siders a piece of dystopian hardware also risks further denting the WPS’s reputation. Vladimir Putin thankfully fell into a simi- lar trap ahead of ordering his full invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin for years splurged billions of dollars on developing super weapons like hypersonic missiles, nuclear armed submarine drones and thermobaric bombs. But as Russian forces lumbered toward Kyiv, they were exposed — if only briefly — as a paper tiger. Turns out Moscow’s ultra-modern military was dependent on expired food rations, cheap Chinese tires, consumer cellphones and a thoroughly corrupt leadership structure. An immense technological revolution is already underway. The challenge for decision-makers, both now and in the future, will be to find the right tools to address the shared problems we’re faced with. Kyle Hiebert is a Winnipeg-based political risk analyst, and former deputy editor of the Africa Conflict Monitor. Affordable housing a stone’s throw away ANYONE who spends time in Winnipeg can see the desperate need for housing in our community. The situation those experiencing homelessness face in our harsh climate is wrong and it is dire. According to the National Right to Housing Network, encampments have grown significantly over the last five years as they provide a sense of security, warmth and community to those experi- encing homelessness. The Granite Curling Club is no stranger to this phenomenon — there was an active encampment just west of the Granite until it was dismantled very recently. We have started a new campaign called Granite Members for Affordable Housing, and are col- lecting signatures from members in favour of the City of Winnipeg’s proposed housing development on the Granite’s west parking lot. We started this campaign in response to the Granite executive’s characterization of the housing development as an “existential threat to the future of the club.” Granite Members for Affordable Housing do not see it this way. We believe that a common solution can be found that can both see the construction of mixed-income housing on this city-owned land and also ensure the future viability of the curling club. We have been heartened to learn that many who love to curl at the Granite are in favour of the housing development. The feedback we have received is that many Granite members do not want our curling club to act against the best inter- ests of our most vulnerable neighbours, the West Broadway neighbourhood, and the club itself. A new development to house families adds to the vi- brancy, density and safety of the neighbourhood. Imagine it — mixed-income housing to one side of the Granite, and the Beer Can to the other! This is the curling club that we want to be a part of. We are confident that a solution can be found that ensures the future viability of the club. The Granite Curling Club is located across the street from a sea of parking at the Canada Life Building. This large surface parking lot is available to Canada Life employees in the day but largely vacant in the evenings and weekends when most curling leagues play. It is not difficult to see a common sense solution to lost parking spots through collaborative conversations with the city and Canada Life. We see this as an opportunity for the club to secure the best deal possible with the city, who state they are also committed to ensuring the long term viability of the club. We understand that revenue generated by this housing development would provide an annuity to help maintain the Granite Curling Club, a heritage property and important piece of civic infrastruc- ture. We also understand that this annuity will be enough to replace the revenue that the Granite was receiving from Canada Life’s use of the west parking lot. We are relying on the city to keep up their end of the deal. The sport of curling, which we love, does indeed face existential threats, but these threats are not due to parking inconveniences. Curling clubs across Canada are closing because they have struggled to find ways of wel- coming new curlers to the sport from groups who have traditionally not found a home in our curling club. If the Granite executive is interested in the long-term viability of the club, they would be ex- cited to welcome our new neighbours into our club to eat, drink and enjoy the sport that has given so many of us joy and community. Time is of the essence. The proposed hous- ing development is part of a larger strategy to drastically increase housing options through the Housing Accelerator Fund. This funding program and subsequent projects are at risk in the approaching federal election, as the Conservative Party has vowed to scrap the program. We are in an important and somewhat rare moment where a social and economic crisis is being met with a clear political solution. It is an opportunity that none of us can afford to squan- der. The housing crisis requires all hands on deck — even the hands of curlers, apparently! For the future viability of the club, we are pleading with the Granite executive to end their resistance to this development. To quote one member of our fledgling curling team, “the only thing we keep out of houses is curling rocks.” Jess Klassen is a member of Granite Members for Affordable Housing and is a mediocre curler. Advance directives and choice I read with interest the opinion piece by Ruth Enns (Medical assistance in dying and advance directives, Think Tank, Feb. 3). The are several points in this article that require clarification. As an emergency physician, I deal with advance directives on an almost daily basis. The statement that “we are now to believe that we should be able to circumvent current euthanasia/MAID restrictions by signing an advance directive” is fearmongering of the highest order. No medical practitioners are convinc- ing patients to sign advance directives as way of providing MAID. MAID in Canada is a very strictly regulated practice that requires consultation of a specialized team and is a completely separate process from the provision of advance directives. (As an emergency physician, I am neither qualified nor permitted to provide MAID.) And saying that practitioners can get a patient to sign an advance directive “even after a dementia diagnosis” is absurd. For a physician to be obtaining a signature on a legal document when the patient does not have the capacity to consent would be a serious professional misconduct, and if Ms. Enns is aware of any such instances I urge her to contact the appropriate regulatory au- thorities. Many patients with dementia have made prior arrangements with loved ones or other people they trust to be substitute decision makers on their behalf, which is itself an advance directive. (And sometimes the directive is that the patient receive full resuscitation and ICU care, and this is what is put on the advance directive.) As for the decisions made by substitute decision-makers, I often speak with the family members of patients who have had catastrophic medical events, where we have already provided resuscitation, and have put the patient on a ventilator (essentially what is commonly called ‘life support’), only to be told by the family that the patient had discussed this eventuality with their family and did not want any resuscitation, advanced care or surgery. These family members ask us to stop resuscitative efforts and to provide comfort care only. There is also a continuum of care in advanced directives, as opposed to a yes/no. The order DNR (for Do Not Resuscitate) is no longer used. We now use ACP (advanced care plan) designations. ACP-R (R for resuscitation) means that patients are to receive all treatments, includ- ing CPR and artificial ventilation. If we do not know the wishes of that patient or family, we designate them as ACP-R as a default until notified otherwise. ACP-M (M for medical) means that we are not to provide CPR, but provide every other kind of appropriate intervention (antibiotics, anti-arrhythmic medications, etc). It should be noted that although some patients do wish to receive CPR, they would wish to be placed on a ventilator if necessary, and in those instances write that order on charts in accordance with patient wishes. ACP-C (C for comfort) means only medica- tions required for the comfort of the patient (like medications for pain and nausea). It should be noted that patients receiv- ing palliative care are generally receiving mostly comfort medications, and no active treatment for the underlying disease (like an advanced incurable cancer). The very core of palliative care is provi- sion of comfort to a patient who is nearing the end of their life. If we are to follow Ms. Enns’s conclusion that advance directives are a failure (and presumably that they should not exist), then a patient receiving pal- liative/hospice care, once their heart stops beating, must receive CPR, ventilation and an entire protocol of advanced resuscitation. Without an advance directive, this is exactly what would occur. (And no, I am not exaggerating.) Is this what is being seriously suggested? Finally, the statement “Instead of choice, doesn’t the signing of advance directives ac- tually abdicate choice?” is egregiously false. Patients want control over their medical care. Not every patient wants their life to end with CPR being performed on them. I have had patients, with whom I am having this discussion, tell me how they had been in ICU on a ventilator before, and they never want to go through that again. An advance directive empowers the patient to have their choice respected. When patients enter the health-care system, they want to know that they will receive the treatments they wish, and will not receive treatments they don’t. That is the very definition of choice. Dr. Douglas Eyolfson is an emergency physician in Winnipeg. DOUGLAS EYOLFSON JESS KLASSEN THE CANADIAN PRESS Drones, like this police drone flying near the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, are an example of a technology with new uses — and new dangers. KYLE HIEBERT ;