As AI tools rapidly weave into the fabric of our everyday lives—from the chatbots we consult to the algorithms shaping our newsfeeds—the line between reality and high-tech fabrication has never been thinner. To meet this “unprecedented speed” of adoption, MediaSmarts (retro-famous for the House Hippo!) is launching Canada’s first AI Literacy Day on March 27, 2026. This national initiative isn’t just about learning to use new tech; it’s about equipping Canadians of all ages with the critical thinking skills needed to recognize deepfakes, navigate misinformation, and understand the invisible forces driving our online experiences.
We sat down with Matthew Johnson, Director of Education at MediaSmarts, to discuss why AI literacy is now a fundamental requirement for digital safety and how families, schools, and communities can begin building these essential skills today. —Noa Nichol
The Literacy Launch: This is Canada’s first-ever AI Literacy Day. Why is March 2026 the “tipping point” for moving beyond general digital literacy into a specialized focus on AI?
AI has become a technology that people encounter every day — in search results, chatbots, recommendation systems, scams, deepfakes and the content they see online. We’ve working to keep digital media literacy education up to date for 30 years, and now that means teaching people the specific knowledge and skills they need to understand how AI works, where it shows up, what its limits are and how it can shape what we believe and do. This like a tipping point because while Canada is working on an AI strategy, so far it has been more focused on skills and industry. Adoption of this technology has happened so quickly, but public understanding hasn’t kept pace. AI literacy is now essential to participating safely, confidently and critically in digital life.
Beyond the Tool: Kathryn Hill mentioned that AI literacy isn’t just about learning how to use these tools. How do you define “critical thinking” in the context of an algorithm that is designed to feel seamless and intuitive?
Critical thinking in this context means slowing down and asking questions even – or especially – when a tool is designed to feel effortless. With AI, that includes asking: Where did this answer come from? Why am I being shown this? What information might be missing? What biases in its training set might be reflected in what I’m seeing? Who benefits if I trust this output? The challenge is that AI tools often feel authoritative, neutral and frictionless, which can make people less likely to question them. AI literacy means resisting that temptation. It means understanding that just because something sounds confident, personalized or convenient doesn’t mean it is accurate, fair or trustworthy.
The Deepfake Detection: With the rise of deepfakes and manipulated media used in scams, what are the “red flags” MediaSmarts is teaching Canadians to look for to recognize AI-generated content?
We teach people not to rely on visual clues, because AI-generated content is getting better all the time and because real photos and videos sometimes have things that will make them look fake if we want a reason to doubt them. Of course, if something has a lot of those, or seems “too good to be true,” you’ll want to be extra skeptical, but what’s most important is the context: Where did this come from? Is the source trustworthy? Have any sources that you know are trustworthy, like reliable news outlets or professional fact-checkers, confirmed or debunked it? Is it trying to make me feel something strongly? In scams especially, the biggest red flag is often pressure — pressure to send money, share information or react immediately.
The Intimate Threat: You are addressing the rise of “intimate deepfakes.” What is the most important piece of advice for parents and schools who are trying to protect youth from this specific, high-stakes AI risk?
The most important thing is to treat this as a serious form of sexualized violence and respond with support. Young people need to know that if something happens, it is not their fault and they should tell a trusted adult right away. Parents and schools should talk openly with youth about intimate deepfakes before there is a crisis, so young people understand the risk and know where to turn for help. Most importantly, we have to make sure our kids aren’t making these deepfakes by countering the attitudes that can make them feel less harmful than real images or videos – especially the idea that since deepfakes aren’t “real” there’s no harm done. Kids need to understand that making a deepfake of someone hurts just as much as circulating a real image or video. Schools also need clear policies and response plans in place. Prevention matters, but so does being ready to respond quickly, compassionately and seriously when harm occurs.
The Chatbot Influence: We know young people are interacting with tools like ChatGPT daily. Are you seeing a shift in how students perceive the “authority” of information when it comes from a chatbot versus a traditional search engine?
Yes — one of the big shifts is that chatbots present information as a finished answer instead of a list of sources. That can make them feel more authoritative, especially for young people who are used to conversational interfaces. With a search engine, you still have to choose, compare and evaluate sources. A chatbot collapses that process into a single response, which can make it easier to forget that the answer may be incomplete, incorrect or biased. That’s why we need to teach students not just how to use these tools, but how to question them, to make sure that they always provide sources for what they’re saying, verify that those sources really exist and are being accurately represented in the answer, and recognize that convenience is not the same as credibility. Just understanding the basics of how large language model AIs work has been shown to make people a lot more skeptical of the content they produce.
Democracy and the Algorithm: MediaSmarts highlights that understanding algorithms is critical for democracy. How exactly does an AI-shaped information diet impact a person’s ability to participate fully in a digital society?
If AI systems are shaping what you see, what you don’t see and how information is prioritized for you, then they are also shaping how you understand the world. That matters for democracy because informed participation depends on having access to reliable information, diverse perspectives and opportunities for meaningful engagement. When people are fed highly personalized or emotionally manipulative content, it can narrow their view, reinforce bias and make it harder to tell what is real or widely shared. AI literacy helps people recognize that their online experience is being shaped for them and gives them the tools to question, broaden and verify the information they rely on as citizens.
The Policy Gap: You’ve called for a national digital media literacy strategy that includes AI. Where does Canada currently stand in its “AI readiness” compared to the speed at which these tools are being adopted?
When we talk about AI literacy we don’t just mean technical skills – these are important, but there is a real gap when it comes to public understanding of AI in Canada. These tools are being adopted much faster than most people are being taught how to understand or question them. Right now, too much of the responsibility falls on individual parents, teachers and users to figure it out on their own. A national digital media literacy strategy would help make sure AI literacy is not left to chance or geography. We need coordinated investment in education, public awareness and community-based learning so Canadians of all ages can engage with AI safely, critically and confidently.
Safety vs. Innovation: How do we teach Canadians—especially seniors—to engage “critically and responsibly” with AI without scaring them away from the genuine benefits of the technology?
The key is to focus on confidence, not fear. We don’t want people to think AI is something mysterious or inherently dangerous. We want them to understand that, like any technology, it can be helpful in some situations and harmful in others. For seniors especially, it helps to use practical, everyday examples — like spotting scams, checking whether a message is real or understanding how a recommendation system works. The goal is not necessarily to scare people away from AI. It’s to help them feel capable of asking questions, setting boundaries and using these tools on their own terms.
Classroom Integration: On March 27, you are encouraging classrooms across the country to explore how AI works. What is one simple exercise a teacher can do to instantly reveal the “invisible” work of an algorithm to their students?
One simple activity is to ask students to compare how the same prompt gets answered in different contexts. For example, they can ask an AI chatbot the same question in two slightly different ways and then look closely at what changes: what information is included, what is left out, what tone it uses and how confident it sounds. That opens up a conversation about the fact that AI is not just “finding” information — it is generating responses based on patterns, predictions and design choices. It’s a quick way to make the invisible visible and to show students that these tools are not neutral.
The Media Literacy Legacy: This initiative builds on the success of Media Literacy Week. What is the long-term goal for AI Literacy Day? Do you see AI literacy eventually becoming a core part of the standard Canadian school curriculum?
The long-term goal is to make AI literacy a normal, expected part of how Canadians learn to engage with digital media — not a one-off conversation, but an ongoing public education effort. We want AI Literacy Day to grow into a national moment that brings together schools, families, community organizations and policymakers around a shared understanding that these are foundational skills. And yes, I do think AI literacy should become part of standard school curriculum. Not as a standalone technical subject only, but as integrated into digital media literacy, citizenship education and critical thinking across subjects. Young people need those skills now, not someday.
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