Overcoming Apprehension and Leveraging AI's Potential

By Jorielle J. Nunag

There is no question that artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an exceptional pace, making its integration into our everyday lives inevitable. With the speed in which AI is advancing, as with most technological developments in the past, concerns on how its impact will affect society exist. And while some include far-fetched depictions in pop culture, many concerns - including bias, security, impact on jobs, to name a few - also have validity in the conversation. That in mind, AI presents countless opportunities for positive change in ways we are just beginning to understand, making its integration in just about every industry indispensable.?

A recent event at the MaRS Discovery District coined MaRS Impact AI showcased many of the ways AI can benefit us, whether it’s streamlining mundane tasks, supporting people in need of faster access to medical support, or simply better utilizing our own skill sets to unlock passion in the work we do, making it clear that AI has a remarkable potential to support us.???

AI is undoubtedly reshaping the workforce prompting discussions around how companies across Canada need to embrace implementation. Coming out of the conference it was exciting to see home-grown Canadian companies leading the pack in their respective industries. Examples like Kids Help Phone, who are using real-world adoption of AI to support youth in Canada and Unity Health, who are maximizing AI to enhance and streamline care in emergency departments show the promise that AI has to offer. Yet as some of Canada’s finest in the tech community congregated to learn, discuss and adopt AI into their own respective industries, questions around speed of adoption - or lack thereof - also entered the conversation.?

Canadian businesses have long lagged in digital adoption and AI is no different. In fact, Canadian organizations are significantly outpaced by our U.S. counterparts (35% vs. 72% respectively) when it comes to AI adoption. Many of the presenters spoke about how the “business of AI” involves complex processes due to its constant advancement, making it challenging to overcome the barriers to adoption for Canadian companies.?

For one, many Canadian companies look to expand outside of Canada instead of investing in homegrown AI tools due to the lack of government incentives. Without additional support from government, companies starting their journey lack the resources necessary to hire a team that can support in managing transparency, trust and understanding around AI’s limits through a legal lens. And without the appropriate legal advice, keeping up with Canada’s rapidly changing regulatory framework can be overwhelming for both startups and enterprises alike.?

Learnings coming out of MaRS’ kickstarting AI adoption in Canada session suggests companies can overcome these challenges by first thinking about what they need AI’s support on, understanding where the headwinds and tailwinds may emerge in the process, and beginning with small, manageable ways to implement AI. In the case of Unity Health, AI’s use can be as simple as automating feedback between physicians and their patients, to more involved applications like using algorithm trained data to triage patient care.??

Another memorable discussion was on debunking the misconceptions around AI’s negative effect on people’s jobs. This thought extends even past the conference. Try typing “Will AI…” into Google search and among the top results are “take over the world”, “replace doctors”, and “take my job”. But as session after session highlighted, when done responsibly, AI is a stepping stone toward efficiency, productivity and an expansion of what humans can do. Canadians shouldn’t be afraid of losing their jobs to AI, but to others who are embracing and using AI.????????

Whether it’s preparing for the changes AI presents in your particular workplace, or seeing its bigger picture impact across multiple industries, companies shouldn’t adopt AI for the sake of being part of the conversation, but for the genuine solutions it creates for your business. And while AI’s integration poses well-grounded concerns, like many new technologies that emerge, its adoption can unlock countless opportunities for companies who stay on the pulse of its advancements.??