The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into our lives has been compared to the Industrial Revolution. Technology taken to a whole new level, changing everything.

Will it make life better for us, or will it just steal our jobs and our self-worth or even replace us? There seems to be general agreement that it has the potential to do either.

Another question is who will it benefit. Will it be primarily exploited to serve the public or to transform tech billionaires into trillionaires?

One way to ensure that it does the former is to put it to work solving our greatest problem. The problem I refer to, of course, is living sustainably on planet Earth.

Presently we are not. We are devouring the planet’s resources faster than it can replenish them, and polluting it faster than it can absorb our waste. We are fouling our nest.

The planet is finite. To limit our exploitation of resources and our dumping of waste to sustainable limits we must, among other things, reduce our numbers. And we are doing just that. For example, in 2025 our country experienced its first population decline since Confederation. And we are not alone. Countries throughout the world—even China—are seeing their populations drop. Long-term projections indicate that the world’s population growth rate will continue to slow down, reaching zero growth by the end of the 21st century.

This vexes economists. Declining populations, they point out, are aging populations. This means fewer young workers to support retirees. More people using government services with fewer taxpayers to support the services. This is indeed a legitimate concern.

But only when thinking strictly in terms of human workers. Enter AI. If AI can live up to its reputation for replacing human labour, then the problem is solved. Here are the necessary workers.

There could hardly be a better answer to the question of what AI is for. It can be a key partner in achieving a sustainable economy, safely reducing our demands on the planet without undermining our standards of living.

It can do many other things of course, from improving health care and education, to managing complex systems, to enhancing agriculture and writing code for the systems that govern it. But none of this is as important as ensuring civilization a future on the planet.

At the moment, governments are focussed in putting this dangerous beast on a leash. We mere flesh-and-blood beings should at least know when it is being used, how it is being used, and who is accountable for it. It needs to be governed.

The European Union has been a leader with its Artificial Intelligence Act, the first comprehensive regulation on AI by a major regulator. The EU enforces the Act through a system combining both EU-level bodies and national authorities. The authorities can request technical documentation, conduct interviews, inspect premises, and demand access to models for testing. They can require companies to alter systems, restrict public availability, or pull non-compliant models from the market; and impose fines for non-compliance.

This is a good start, but controlling AI is a global challenge and ultimately may require international agreements to preclude its worst potential mischief.

When (and if) we are able to govern AI, it should be directed to serve the public interest. It can be melded with human labour as necessary as a partner in achieving sustainability. It can have no better purpose.