Nov 25, 2024
Canada Invests $2.4 Billion in AI: Where and How?
Funding, Artificial intelligence
Last April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $2.4 billion series of measures to strengthen Canada’s advantage in artificial intelligence (AI). You can imagine how pleased I am, given the message I’ve been trying to convey for several years: Canadian businesses are lagging in productivity, and integrating AI could help us address this critical economic challenge, which is so important for Canada’s prosperity and standard of living.
Since the 1990s, Canada has been a leader in AI, thanks in part to the research of Canadians Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, two global AI pioneers. Canada has gained a head start in the industry by building a robust AI ecosystem.
As AI continued to develop at a rapid pace, Canada was the first country to develop a pan-Canadian strategy on artificial intelligence in 2017. The first part of the strategy aimed to maintain Canada's position as a global leader in AI-related innovations, and the second part aimed to help businesses be more competitive and ensure Canadians could benefit from the growth of the digital economy.
This point is also at the heart of the Prime Minister's concerns. On June 7, 2024, Justin Trudeau visited the New York Times podcast Hard Fork and explained his vision for the future of AI in a few words: how can we maximize the chances that AI will lead to better outcomes and a better life for all?
While the first part of the 2017 investments was a success, as Canada is still leading the way in AI-related innovations, the second part is not yet won. Indeed, even though we have the expertise, researchers and capabilities, Canada is far from being a model in terms of AI adoption. A recent report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce reveals that nearly three out of four companies have not even thought about including AI in their processes.
So what is Canada's strategy to accelerate the adoption of AI in business? What doe these measures tell us about the government's priorities?
Measures
The investments, totalling $2.4 billion, are designed to accelerate job growth in Canada's AI sector, boost productivity by helping researchers and businesses develop and adopt AI, and ensure it is done responsibly.
The government therefore wants to provide access to computing capacity and technological infrastructure not only for researchers, but also for start-ups and global AI companies in Canada. The $2 billion investment includes a new Computing Access Fund to support researchers and industry in the short term.
Also, a new Canadian AI sovereign infrastructure strategy will be created to foster its development. Access to such infrastructure will help attract global investment, develop, recruit and retain talent, and help Canadian companies compete in the international marketplace.
Then, $200 million will be allocated to accelerate the adoption of AI in key sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, clean technologies and manufacturing.
Another $100 million will be invested in the NRC IRAP AI Assistance Program [1] to help small and medium-sized businesses scale and increase productivity by deploying new AI solutions, and $50 million will go to the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program that will provide new training to workers in sectors potentially disrupted by AI.
A new Canadian Institute for AI Safety will be created to support the safe development and deployment of this technology, with $50 million. The institute will help Canada better understand and protect against the risks associated with advanced AI systems.
In addition, an additional $5.1 million will be allocated to strengthen the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act . It should be remembered that this Act, despite its name, consists of a voluntary code of conduct and provides Canadian companies with standards for the responsible use of AI. This law will serve until official regulations are established.
Basically, even if the Canadian government still invests mostly in research and development to strengthen our AI ecosystem, it maintains a good budget to stimulate its adoption within local businesses. Also, the measures aim to promote responsible adoption of this technology, in addition to thinking about the future of workers who could be impacted by it.
In my view, through these measures, Canada is consolidating its position as a world leader in AI, while remaining cautious, actively thinking about and acting on the potential harmful impacts that this technology can bring.
So, will you take advantage of the available money to help you increase your productivity through AI?
