Artificial intelligence is both a wonderful and innovative technology, and it has long since captured the minds of many, be it through books, art, music, and even film, fascinating the imaginations of people and inspiring fear, awe, and curiosity.
And when “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” debuted their characters Data and R2D2 on the big screen, they easily embodied what screenwriters and fans of science fiction have wanted AI to look like: highly humanoid, capable of high intelligence, and even, to some degree, emotion.
But while these people romanticized the depictions on-screen, real life AI has actually entered our lives in ways more than one. Areas such as medicine, insurance, financial services, and research, among others, rely on data collection, and AI is often used to do it seamlessly and more accurately than any person.
Despite all of this, however, some nations are still having a hard time adopting it, and countries such as Canada risk losing it altogether.
Canadian artificial intelligence
Historically, Canada has always been a hotbed full of technological innovations, easily establishing itself as a world leader in leading-edge AI. In fact, companies like LG Electronic Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. take advantage of the country’s innovations on the technology.
When it comes to actually adopting the said technology, however, the maple country presents a different story. In fact, per a 10-country survey done by Accenture, the nation is just narrowly ahead of Brazil when it comes to AI adoption, and it significantly lags behind countries like the United Kingdom, China and the United States.
A Deloitte report touched more on this topic, revealing that the country is risking Canadian talent and future competitiveness by rapidly falling behind in AI. The report also revealed that only a mere 16 percent of businesses there have reported to be using AI. This has been the case for about four years now.
The reality is, AI is no longer on the horizon and people aren’t looking over it anymore. It’s here, it has been here for quite some time now, and Canadian businesses need to step up and use the technology in more meaningful ways that can potentially unlock a new market for the country.
New opportunities
All is not for naught, however, as various companies are looking to potentially insert AI into the Canadian landscape. One such example is global management consulting company Accenture, who revealed that it plans on making an innovation hub in the center of Toronto, where it can easily create 800 new jobs to help clients work on various technologies, including blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Besides Accenture, there are other companies that have decided to join the technology surge in the city. Late last September, Uber Technologies Inc. stated that it will be spending $150 million in Toronto’s research for driverless cars, while Shopify Inc. has announced a $380 million investment.
Canada has long been a center for technological advancements, thanks to its talented pool. Nevertheless, it needs to foster a top-tier ecosystem for AI if it plans to keep this up further down the road.