In the global race for AI, how do we ensure we’re creating a better world?
There is a new gold rush. In the same way that early prospectors raced to stake their claims to extract wealth from the ground, companies are rushing to patent aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) so that they can extract wealth from algorithms and data. This time, however, it is not just about money—though that is […]
Superclusters move toward first projects as Bains says innovation program ‘kicking into high gear’
Canada’s five “superclusters” will spend 2019 getting their not-for-profit entities set up and rolling out their first projects meant to boost sector-wide productivity and collaboration under the Liberal government’s cornerstone innovation program. The federal government reached funding agreements with the five winners of its Innovation Superclusters Initiative last November and December, hashing out what portion […]
Tug of war between innovation and privacy at heart of digital data talks
Following the completion of a series of national consultations on the future of Canada’s digital economy, some stakeholders say they’re concerned that the drive for innovation is being given priority over privacy concerns, but leaders of the consultations say both positions had their voices heard. Last December, federal Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien wrote to Innovation, […]
What happens to people in the age of AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and related emerging technologies will drastically change our society over the next couple of decades. Not only will automated systems soon take over jobs such as truck driving and manufacturing, they will eventually disrupt employment everywhere else, too. The current headlong rush to automate will create some employment in selected sectors, such […]
Here are the building blocks of a good digital strategy
Canada’s future competitiveness and growth prospects are inextricably linked to our ability to seize the opportunities created by the rapidly evolving digital economy. Evolving digital technologies create an opportunity for new products, technologies, services, business processes, societal tools, and organizations to generate new wealth, but they also challenge the existing system of production and our […]
How Canada is building a nation of innovators
The winds of change are powerful and persistent in the global economy. New technologies and new applications of data and digital tools are driving a fourth industrial revolution in economies and societies around the world. We can either put our heads in the sand and lose our opportunity for leadership, or we can take charge […]
We’ve got all the ingredients to make Canada an innovation leader. So why aren’t we?
If a Canadian innovates but no users benefit, did the innovation ever really happen? This “tree falling in the woods” analogy focuses on an important question: if we cannot reliably generate social benefits and economic opportunities (jobs and wealth, in other words) from our exceptional research capacity, are we putting our future investments in discovery […]
Innovation
For rural and remote communities, broadband access is not a game
Over the last decade, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have decried consecutive governments for not doing enough to support rural and remote broadband access. Canadians in these communities should have access to broadband supports—it’s 2019, after all. There are a whole host of reasons given that not every Canadian has access to affordable […]
Canada’s economy needs workers with global learning experiences
In a column published recently in The Hill Times, Perrin Beatty and Paul Davidson argued that Canada has to up its game when it comes to connecting post-secondary students with international learning experiences. “In our rapidly changing world,” they wrote, “Canadian employers need workers who are culturally aware, resilient, and adaptable—skilled in problem solving, communication, […]
