The Globe and Mail Published February 26, 2021 Illustration: Bryan Gee/The Globe and Mail. Source image: Istock Taylor Owen is the director of The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University and the host of the Big Tech podcast. During a press call in March, 2020, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked whether he could ensure that the company’s increasing reliance on powerful artificial intelligence would be used responsibly. He replied, “We basically hold ourselves accountable.” This telling response points to a critical question facing governments around the world. Do they have the power, capacity and will to govern the digital sphere, or will they cede this responsibility to a handful of global companies with growing control of our digital infrastructure?