PAID ADVERTISEMENT JUNE 2024 | INNOVATINGCANADA.CA
@MediaplanetCA
Please recycle
A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET
Canadian Innovation Q&A WITH
François-Philippe Champagne Mediaplanet interviewed Minister Champagne about Canada’s $1.4B investment in multidisciplinary research, fostering innovation and long-term benefits across health, sciences, and engineering sectors. Minister Champagne, could you highlight a recent standout initiative supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund that exemplifies the fund's impacts on fostering innovation within Canada? Our government supports scientific discovery, developing Canadian research talent, and attracting top researchers from around the world. To date, we’ve invested close to $1.4 billion through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund in support of 11 multidisciplinary research initiatives in health, natural and social sciences as well as in engineering. Each initiative will deliver impactful outcomes that forge strong partnerships, create long-term social and economic advantages for Canada and build upon areas of strength in the Canadian research ecosystem. From coast to coast to coast, our research institutes are undertaking projects that will deliver long-term benefits to Canadians like at Dalhousie University where research is aimed at designing and evaluating novel approaches to mitigate climate change or at the University of Ottawa where its Brain-Heart Interconnectome initiative will position Canada as the global leader in integrated brain-heart research to reduce the world-wide burden of interlinked diseases.
In your view, what key policies or initiatives are crucial for ensuring Canada remains a competitive force in
innovation, especially in sectors like technology, clean energy, and healthcare? With its highly-educated workforce, Canada’s science and research sector is solving some of the world’s greatest challenges, while driving innovation, growth, and productivity. Our research community, comprising of some of the best talent in the world, is constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to support the ecosystem. Canada’s spending on higher education, research and development, as a share of GDP, is second among the G7 and significantly higher than the OECD average. Budget 2024 put forward a $4.6 billion package of measures to maintain our capacity for cutting-edge research, including: • $2.4 billion to secure Canada’s AI advantage • $1.8 billion in core research grant funding; and • $734 million to support Canada’s world-leading research infrastructure and institutes These investments will ensure that our younger generations can access quality post-secondary education at an affordable cost while maintaining a skilled workforce in Canada. Through these investments, our government is creating opportunities, boosting innovation, and accelerating economic growth.
Read more online at innovatingcanada.ca
Generative AI’s Powerful Potential to Boost Productivity and Build Trust in Data
U
Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia Senior Director, Digital Economy, Technology, and Innovation & Future of AI Council Lead, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
lrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director of Digital Economy, Technolog y, a nd Innovation at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, discusses the importance of trust in data and privacy protection, in the context of generative AI driving economic productivity, with Mike Branch, Vice-President of Data and Analytics at Geotab, and member of the Canadian Chamber’s Future of AI Council.
Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia: What is your concept of trust in data and its significance for productivity, especially in the context of generative AI? Mike Branch: Gen AI relies heavily
Mike Branch Vice-President, Data and Analytics, Geotab & Member of the Canadian Chamber’s Future of AI Council
on trust in data. Trust in data is like the confidence placed in crossing a bridge. Solid data foundations instill confidence. Gen AI depends on this trust in its data for its acceptance and effectiveness. Maintaining this trust requires clear transparency, privacy safeguards, reliability, and quality data. These pillars of trust will help deliver on the technology’s promise to boost productivity.
UBG: In what ways do you see Gen AI impacting trust in data, and how does it influence productivity outcomes? MB: Gen AI can speed up time-to-insight by allowing users to interact with complex business datasets using natural language to obtain answers. To build trust in its use, it’s essential to ensure responsible deployment of AI. Trusted AI boosts productivity by enabling quick, insightful decisions. For example, a fleet manager can use Gen AI to identify the least productive regions in seconds rather than hours or days. By democratizing data and providing actionable insights, Gen AI enhances decision-making, customer value, and competitive strategy.
UBG: With the increasing concern over data privacy and ownership, how are you navigating the complexity to ensure trust in data, while respecting privacy rights? MB: Geotab adheres to diverse data privacy laws in its processing of data from over four million vehicles worldwide. Data standardization ensures customer access while respecting privacy, aligning with the Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance. We have a cross-functional team involving compliance, legal, data privacy, and engineering to
develop a global posture that coincides with data sovereignty requirements. Geotab also innovates in data privacy through anonymization techniques, red teaming, and motivated intruder attacks, preserving customer privacy whilst delivering AI-driven insights to reduce collisions, downtime, and emissions.
UBG: Are there any jurisdictions you can point to that lead by example in terms of trust in Gen AI and data practices, while respecting privacy rights? MB: As Gen AI adoption grows, jurisdictions are developing frameworks and regulations that foster trust and ensure privacy rights are respected — the EU's AI Act and Singapore's AI framework are leading examples. In Canada, several new acts and charters promote responsible AI use in commercialized offerings. Each of these regions and countries show how a balanced approach between innovation in Gen AI and robust data protection can encourage trust in Gen AI technologies, alongside respect for individual privacy rights. At Geotab, we view Gen AI as a driver of data democratization and insight generation, employing a nuanced deployment approach to ensure optimal value extraction and system safety for users.
To learn more about the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s initiatives on AI, visit:
This article was supported by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Publisher: Jonas Hatcher Business Development Manager: Sarah Ferreira Strategic Account Director: Anna Sibiga Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Production & Delivery Manager: Michael Taylor Creative Director: Kylie Armishaw Graphic & Web Designer: Christina Morgan Digital & Social Media Strategist: Kristen Neals Digital Traffic Strategist: Karm Rathod Content Strategy Manager: Nicole Kansakar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The National Post or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.