Canada’s AI imperative:
From predictions to prosperity
Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be one of the leading economic drivers of our time, and Canada has the opportunity to be a global leader. We have the research strength, talent pool, and startups to capitalize, but that’s not enough if we truly want to lead in an AI-driven world and shape what it might look like. True leadership is required—that means taking steps now to establish a world-class AI ecosystem in Canada.
What would a prosperity strategy look like in practice? And what would it really take for Canada to lead? This paper launches a new multi-part Deloitte series on Canada’s AI Imperative. Its purpose is to provide a platform on which to engage business and policy leaders about what it will take for our country to claim a leadership position in an AI-driven world and to explore different dimensions of what an AI prosperity strategy could look like.
This first installment of the series explores the opportunity AI presents for Canada and outlines some of the challenges our businesses and policymakers must address if they genuinely want to lead.
What it takes to lead
What are the ingredients of a world-leading AI ecosystem? Simple. They’re the same ones that fuel any healthy industry or economy, and they’re the ones that every student learns in Economics 101: high-quality supply balanced with robust demand.
High-quality supply: A leading country has a robust AI ecosystem, with vendors and talent that push technological boundaries and breakthroughs to commercial applicability as well as develop and sell AI domestically and internationally.
Robust demand: For a country to lead in AI, its businesses must be at a level where they’re capable of experimenting with AI in intelligent ways and deploying it with a long-term, strategic view.
A strong foundation: Supply and demand hinge on a number of enabling conditions, which require the collaboration of businesses and governments to create; a political will to invest in AI; and a public sector committed to adopting AI technologies and providing better services for society.
Figure 2: Leadership requires a strong foundation
Access to talent
A robust ecosystem requires three integral types of AI talent: Deeply specific talent to conduct fundamental research in AI;Talent versed in AI applications and business models to identify commercial opportunities;Talent with general management skills (e.g., sales, marketing, product management) to scale and commercialize breakthroughs for both startups and established companies
Access to funding
World-leading AI ecosystems need access to healthy pools of funding—both private (e.g., venture capital, angel investments, and private equity) and public (e.g., grants and tax credits). Venture capitalists, governments, and the business community must provide funding throughout the business cycle, from startup to scale-up.
Essential safeguards
To mitigate AI’s negative impacts and avoid potential societal backlash, business leaders and policymakers must collaborate to make the transition to an AI economy possible. This means having essential safeguards in place to protect against unethical data collection, prevent income inequality from increasing, and smooth the path through potential labour market disruption, among other issues.
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Canada’s AI imperative series
Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be one of the leading economic drivers of our time, and Deloitte believes Canada has a responsibility to be a global leader. As a country, we have the research strength, talent pool, and startups to become a leading AI supplier, but that’s not enough if we truly want to lead in an AI-driven world. Our ambition as a nation should be to shape what that world will look like. True leadership is required―that means taking steps now to establish a world-class AI ecosystem in Canada. Deloitte’s multi-part series on Canada’s AI imperative provides a platform on which to engage business and policy leaders about what it will take for our country to claim a global leadership position in AI and to explore different dimensions of what an AI prosperity strategy could look like.
