Artificial Intelligence Integration into the Canadian Economy
Context
GROUP
Economy
TIMELINE
1939 The heartless Tin Man makes his film debut in the Wizard of Oz
1950 Alan Turing outlines how to test a computer's intelligence through the Turing test in his paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence
1950 Isaac Asimov publishes his influential collection of science-fiction stories, titled I, Robot
1956 Dartmouth conference launches studies in AI, coining the term
1984 The first Terminator film, which depicts a futuristic world ruled by killing machines under the control of the AI, Skynet
1997 IBM's Deep Blue computer is victorious against Garry Kasparov, the world's reigning chess champion
2005 A Stanford vehicle drives autonomously across the desert for 211km, winning the DARPA grand challenge
2005 Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzwell predicts that around 2045 the intelligence of AI will exceed that of the human brain. He titles this event, 'The Singularity'
2011 IBM's Watson AI wins Jeopardy!
2011 Apple introduces an AI personal assistant called Siri
2013 The movie Her is released in theatres, depicting the story of a man who falls in love with his AI operating system
2014 The Chatbot, Eugene Goostman, passes the Turing test in University of Reading competition
2017 The language processing AI, Alibaba, outscores the top humans at a Stanford University reading and comprehension test
Scenario:
Artificial Intelligence is more intrinsically integrated into the Canadian economy, replacing 42% of the Canadian labour force within the next 20 years.
BACKGROUND
CURRENT TRENDS
CURRENT POLICY
Now What?
Capitalism has historically gone through several revolutions in the organization of work. Before World War Two, Canada’s economy was defined by its agrarian pursuits. [9] Afterwards, the evolution and integration of labour-saving technologies started the decline of this agricultural work. Instead of resulting in unemployment and economic despair, it created a new type of production: industrial. Work life had to be reorganized and new training programs had to be implemented to help with this shifting economy, but it shifted successfully and will shift successfully now with the integration of AI. In her address on 6 June
2017 address on Canada's foreign affairs priorities, Minister Chrystia Freedland had advocated for the integration of AI and other innovative technologies to progress the Canadian economy.[10] She expresses a positive response to the growing role of automation, and the Canadian budget has reflected these sentiments. However, there is still more the Canadian government has to do in order to prepare for this Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Necessary Steps
to Ensure Success
3
Step
One
Training
Step
Two
Education
Step
Three
Collaboration
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TRAINING
By establishing partnerships with research groups like the Vector Institute in Toronto, private corporations like IBM, or with incubators like Communitech, the Canadian government could provide comprehensive training and guidance for a new AI economy. Private and public sectors should be proactive in providing training and retraining to help individuals in occupations at risk of being replaced by AI adjust to occupational re-organization or job loss.
However, for training to be successful, the government must produce policies that incentivize employers and employees to attend and implement these programs. Companies must offer retraining, and employees need to want to attend and be willing to adapt. There are many new avenues of employment that could transpire from AI integration, and so unemployment can be avoidable. These would be jobs that deal with the assembly, design, programming, transportation, and service of new AI machines. The World Economic Forum’s 2016 Future of Jobs report established that employers would actually prefer to retrain workers than to let them go.[11] This means that with the right monetary incentives and government-led programs in place, AIs would be more of an inconvenience than a threat to an individual’s financial stability. Most people have already become comfortable with using and talking to their smart phone and tablets. If this trend continues, it is likely people’s relationships with AI will become more nuanced and personalized in the future as it becomes more integrated into their daily lives at home and at work.
As well, there is another avenue for retribution and an incentive for companies to implement new training programs. People who find their employment terminated without the right training to adopt another career due to AI integration are soon going to be able to seek recourse through the legislature and courts. Already, Littler Mendelson LLP (one of the largest employment law firms in the world) has established a practice group to address robotics and AI. [12]
EDUCATION
Top 5 Jobs at Risk of Being Replaced by Automation (1000s)
Retail Salesperson
656
Administrative Assistant
329
313
Cashiers
309
Transport Truck Drivers
262
Food Counter Attendants
The jobs with the lowest risk of being replaced by automation vary in nature. They include occupations that span arts and culture, recreation and sport, management and supervisory positions, education, law, health, nursing, and the natural and applied sciences. [13] Although these jobs sound very different on paper, they share a number of essential skills that are not able to be replicated by AI. Each of these jobs requires a high level of creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. Therefore, the Canadian education system should be considering these necessary skills when creating curriculum to better prepare the upcoming generations for the integration of AI into the Canadian economy.
Within the next twenty years it is predicted that AI will replace 42% of the current Canadian labour force.[14] During this period, a new generation will be graduating and getting ready to contribute to the Canadian economy. This timeline means action needs to be taken immediately to better train the students of today to be successful workers of the future and to be able to find a career in the 712,000 net new jobs the Canadian Occupation Projection System (COPS) predicted will be produced with the introduction of AI. [15]
An adapted curriculum to better meet the needs of an AI integrated economy could look something like this:
Elementary
-
Incorporate exercises that encourage problem solving and educate children on cooperation and teamwork
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Maintain an emphasis on ethics as AI programmers will be needed to contribute to the AI decision making processes and ensure it is not confronted with racial, ethnic, and gender prejudices when making automated decisions
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Teach simple coding through applications like Snap! and Scratch
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Incorporate technology and AI programs into the classroom through resources provided by incubators like Imagine k-12 so children can become well-versed and feel comfortable while working with such programs
Secondary
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A basic computer coding course required in the ninth grade
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A mandatory course on critical thinking required in the tenth grade
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Offering a greater variety of computer science courses
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Co-op opportunities with tech startups like Hopper, large companies like IBM, or incubators like Next Canada to teach students vocational skills
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Ensuring students take courses in the arts (visual, music, theatre, film, photography) or integrating the arts into the curriculum to encourage creative thought
Growth of Canadian AI
It is integral that Canadian education begins to reflect the need for computer literacy and creative thought. Invest in Canada announced the Canadian Government funded over $1.3 billion for AI Research and Development in 2016-2017.[16] The merging of technologies with the economy is relevant, and Canada is forging its way into becoming an international leader in AI.
Some Highlighted Regions of Growing AI Initiatives [17]:
Montreal
Toronto
Edmonton
-
Has the highest concentration of researches and students of deep learning in the world
-
Home to the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO)
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Home to one of the world’s largest public deep learning labs, the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA)
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Home to Element AI, a world leading applied AI research company which has recently raised $135 million from high-profile technological investors
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Has the highest concentration of AI start-ups in the world
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Home to the Vector Institute
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Home to NextAI
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Home to Creative Destruction Lab
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The Worldwide University rankings at csrankings.org has ranked the researchers from the University of Alberta second place in AI/Machine Learning combined
Therefore, Canada needs to keep up this momentum in order to maintain its influence as a leader in AI. Funding public education initiatives is expensive, but it is a necessary investment to ensure an easy transition into an AI integrated economy following this 'Fourth Industrial Revolution'. However, Canada is not in this race alone. China has recently started to equip police officers with facial-recognition eyewear, including camera's mounted on sunglasses which are linked to the police database to track criminals and anyone else the government takes interest in. [18] This is why beyond education, Canada needs to collaborate with international institutions to progress and develop in the digital frontier.
COLLABORATION
Investment and Centres
In growing the existing AI sector in the Canadian economy, a focus on building up centers of AI collaboration and minimizing bureaucratic hurdles for tax credits to encourage start-ups and attract international R&D companies to set up offices in Canada are critical for the expansion and adoption of AI. 12 of the 20 top Canadian companies in Canadian technology currently are from Ontario's Toronto-Waterloo corridor, yet a lack of current symposia and workshops for AI still exists with a deficiency of an established and growing centre. [19] This necessary synergy of communications and collaboration needs a developed centre in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. As AI’s return on investment is very high in the majority of fields AI operates in, AI is a safe direction for Federal government and private sector companies to invest in. Investing in both the production of a centralized area, as well as limiting bureaucratic hurdles and investing in start-ups directly, will be necessary for AI to become a successful and prosperous Canadian industry.
The Major technology companies in the United States and China have invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence to gain a foothold in this technological frontier. The Chinese government has outlined a plan to create a $150 billion AI industry by 2030 in partnership with private companies such as Alibaba and Tencent in China, and in the United States Microsoft will invest $50 million over the next five years, according to Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in AI. [20] This field cannot be overlooked and overstated therefore, as the two biggest world economies turn their focus towards its creation and investment. Canada therefore needs to boost investment in both Academia and Industry, and create interconnectedness and collaboration between the two in the coming years in order to remain a robust and growing economy. The 2017 Budget significantly boosts federal support through the Labour Market Transfer Agreements by $2.7 billion over six years, making the transition amenable to labour interests and job protection, but AI should be considered even more heavily if Canada is to compete as an economic power in the future global economy and provided directives for this two-part investment plan. [21]
Directives
Investment in existing start-ups in the current private industry side of the AI issue needs to be undertaken. Many technological companies in the Kitchener-Waterloo corridor have already incorporated AI and represent the fastest growing and most prosperous Canadian economic enterprises. [22] These include companies such as: Miovision (AI for reducing traffic congestion and improving safety), Aislelabs (AI with location-based marketing analytics to Retailers, shopping malls, international airports, and venues- market based on behaviour), Beagle of Kitchener- (offers automatic contract analysis, together with real-time collaboration that uses artificial intelligence to learn from each experience, providing personalized results), Plooto (offers its clients an easy way to manage B2B payments online), PiinPoint (businesses discover, validate, and grow locations- demographics, traffic and real estate listings by AI), Plum.io (cloud-based software that harnesses the power of behavioural science and predictive analytics to identify job applicants), Q4 Web Systems (provides Investor Relations communication and intelligence solutions to hundreds of publicly traded companies through AI), Redtree Robotics (has built the first computer for robots), Rubikloud Technologies (uses modern data science to turn retail data into actionable insights), Statflo (wireless carriers build authentic relationships with its customer- relevant upsells), Synbiota (enables people to learn about genetic engineering and to create sustainable solutions for medicine, materials, food, and fuel), Thalmic Labs (AI innovative ways of interacting with digital devices), and ThinkData Works (AI that aggregates all information from government/ public service). [22] These specific AI enterprises should be further researched into in order to provide adequate funding and investment for their continued growth and success, among other start-ups.
Along with limiting bureaucratic hurdles and taxes on start-ups a program that links Academia and the private sector in order to determine the success rate of any new start-up and the funding and investment that should likely be allocated to it should be developed. The further development of collaborative programs between Government and Industry and Academia- like SOSCIP and the Strategic Fund should be undergone. SOSCIP, the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform is a collaboration between academia, industry and government with partner institutions including Carleton University, Laurier University, McMaster University, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, the University of Ottawa, Queen's University, Ryerson University, the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, Western University and York University.[23] SOSCIP participants can also access technical expertise from Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) and the IBM Canada Research and Development Centre, and represents a perfect jumping off point from Academic to the private sector and a tool of analysis to determine both sides and provide algorithms for future investment. [24] The Strategic Innovation Fund as well which offers repayable and non-repayable contributions to firms of all sizes across all of Canada's industrial and technology sectors and has a budget of $1.26 billion over five years, also represents another opportunity for inter-connectedness from the dual parts of AI industry in order to continue its success. [25]