Feds pledge to add more than $8-billion for defence, announce review of defence policy in new budget
With an eye to Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine, the federal government is proposing adding more than $8-billion to the military budget and to conduct a review of its defence policy in its budget tabled on April 7. With foreign policy taking a backseat for the government as it has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic […]
Russia-Ukraine conflict amplifies the need to protect Canada’s critical infrastructure from cyberattacks
The health and livelihood of Canadians depend on the uninterrupted functioning of our critical infrastructure systems such as energy, water, and transportation. We have long thought of infrastructure as physical assets, but increasingly they are also digital ones—and they come with a whole new set of cybersecurity risks. In 2020, the Canadian Centre for Cyber […]
Canada’s bold AI strategy has been a success—let’s double down
The upcoming federal budget provides an opportunity not only to identify future priorities, but also to reflect on past decisions, strategies, and investments. Although our collective impulse may be to focus on what’s new, the secret to sustaining success is often found in building on what’s already been done—and done right. In 2017, the federal […]
Medical professionals’ discomfort with digital tech is stumbling block to spread of AI in health care, say experts
Medical professionals’ lack of comfort with new digital technologies is a major challenge that will need to be overcome as Health Canada develops the regulatory framework to support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical devices, according to experts. “In medicine, there’s a huge divide between the IT side of the organization and the […]
How does AI factor into growing Canada’s economy?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly seen as one of the most transformative technologies of our era. However, little is known about how widely it is adopted by firms, what sorts of firms are adopting it first or most effectively, nor how they plan to apply it. This lack of reliable information on the use of […]
Time to capitalize on Canada’s big AI advantage
Canada is a global leader in artificial intelligence because of decades of work by world-class luminaries at universities and government labs. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have worked hard to further AI research and development. I successfully exited two AI startups in Canada and hold 48 patents in AI related to messaging and security. My […]
To take AI to the next level, we need a dose of wisdom
There is no doubt that Canada is a global leader in artificial intelligence. Thanks to the foresight of the 2017 Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, the first of its kind globally, investment has transformed research, enterprise, and the attraction of talent. Yet as talk of another “AI winter” abounds, can Canada uphold its momentum? Or have we […]
Five barriers to the commercialization of medical AI research
Consistent and significant investments in AI research in Canada have resulted in globally recognized centres of academic excellence across the country. The often-repeated challenge moving forward is to translate that academic work into commercial success. Based on my experience spinning off two companies developing technologies using AI in the medical space from the University of […]
Renewed cyber security strategy needs industry involved
“This has been a land, sea, air, cyber, space, and information operation,” an official with the Canadian Joint Operations Command summed up last week as Russian troops pushed into Ukraine. “This has been an all-domain operation.” As if to drive the point home, in the hours that followed, the Communications Security Establishment released what would […]
No more polls: Canadians want more information about spying
In the public eye, Canada’s intelligence agencies still possess an invisibility cloak. The strange truth is that the spies would like to discard it (or most of it) and that the public wants it gone. These and other findings emerge from public opinion polls sponsored by Canada’s two main intelligence agencies—the Canadian Security Intelligence Service […]
