AI not being used to ‘make city decisions,’ Vancouver mayor clarifies after remarks raise eyebrows

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim pauses as he speaks during a community dinner of remembrance of the Lapu Lapu day tragedy, in Vancouver, on Sunday, April 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Vancouver’s mayor has assured residents he’s not using artificial intelligence to conduct municipal business after his remarks about the technology raised eyebrows earlier this week.

Ken Sim’s comments came during a Monday news conference, where the federal government announced plans for two new AI data centres in Vancouver.

Sim touted the rapid advancement of the technology, which he said is “doubling every five months” and would become “64 times better in three years.”

“I don’t think people understand how significant AI is going to be in all our lives,” the mayor said. “I have 11 AI agents running right now doing all my—like a lot of my work in the background, and it’s going to be 64 times better. And five months after that it’s going to be 128 times better.”

The remarks drew backlash online, where some commenters interpreted Sim as saying he was conducting official business with artificial intelligence.

“I didn’t pay taxes for you to make yourself a private gym at city hall and let AI do your job for you,” one X user wrote, referencing the boardroom Sim previously converted into a makeshift exercise station.

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Mayoral challenger Kareem Allam, Sim’s former chief of staff, also suggested such use would have “the potential to be the largest offshore leak of government data in Canadian history,” depending what information was being fed to which AI services.

On Wednesday, the mayor issued a statement addressing what he described as “misinformation and speculation” regarding his use of AI.

“All AI agents or tools I have experimented with were used strictly in a personal capacity,” Sim said. “They were never used on City of Vancouver hardware, never connected to city networks, never used for city business, and never provided access to any city information or data.”

The agents were also never used on municipal property or to “make city decisions,” the mayor added.

While stressing a “clear separation” between his personal use of the technology and his work as an elected official, Sim also suggested the online criticism he faced this week “could discourage investment in Vancouver’s growing technology sector.”

“We should be supporting that growth, not undermining it,” he said.