Full Breakdown
Vandalism Strikes Montreal AI Institute During All In Summit
By Drooid · · How we work
Incident Overview
Police in Montreal discovered that the headquarters of the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (Mila) and the nearby ServiceNow office were vandalized on Tuesday night. Several windows of the Mile-Ex building were smashed and graffiti reading “Burn the Data Centers” was spray-painted on the façade. A 25-year-old woman was arrested near the scene, and investigators say a group of roughly ten individuals is suspected. The police investigation remains ongoing.
Background and Context
The attack occurred as the All In AI and tech summit began at the Palais des congrès, drawing more than 6,500 experts, industry leaders and policymakers. Mila’s founder, computer-science pioneer Yoshua Bengio, was slated to speak, and ServiceNow’s vice-president of AI research, Valérie Bécaert, was also on the program. The summit also featured the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Mila and Germany’s DFKI to advance research on agentic AI, safety and trustworthy systems. The vandalism follows heightened public debate after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon’s resignation announcement warning that AI could pose existential risks.
Official Statements & Responses
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon told attendees that democratic debate is welcome but the safety of researchers, educators and workers will be protected. Yoshua Bengio, speaking at a press conference, said violence is not a response to the risks and worries surrounding AI.
Criticism and Opposition
AI consultant Michael Cant expressed dismay at the damage, noting Mila’s leading role in advocating for AI safety.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It's really tragic because Mila is the one organization quite clearly in Canada, if not in the world, that's most advocating for AI safety,” — Michael Cant, AI consultant
- “There are going to be real questions about technology and we welcome them in our democracy. We have conferences like this where people can ask questions peacefully, protest if they want, but we will always protect the safety and security of our researchers, our educators, our workers and our communities,” — Evan Solomon