The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, June 17, edition that this month, Ottawa released AI for All, a national artificial intelligence strategy, offering $2.3-billion in funding, a target to lift business AI adoption from 12 per cent to 60 per cent by 2034, and a clear commitment to data sovereignty. The Post's guest columnist Neil Cawse writes that there is a lot to welcome here. AI is transforming fleet operations and enhancing driver safety and cutting their environmental impact. We shouldn't waste money developing our own AI by building models or data centres from scratch. Ottawa should avoid committing to any single vendor or technology and instead focus on incentivizing Canadian companies to enhance productivity using available AI.
The major tech players, known as hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, are investing heavily in AI infrastructure, with expected spending exceeding $980-billion by 2026. In contrast, Canada's national AI strategy has a budget of just $2.3-billion over five years, making direct competition unrealistic. Instead of focusing on owning servers, Canada should prioritize controlling the data, its location, access permissions and the legal framework surrounding it.
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