Align and operationalize responsible AI to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is a bedrock of innovation, driving productivity and economic growth.
Many experts agree that for Canada, a nation known for its robust technology sector and innovative spirit, prioritizing AI is not just a pathway to technological advancement, but a crucial step towards securing a competitive edge in the global economy.
Montréal based CGI is Canada’s largest IT and business consulting firm. Dr. Diane Gutiw is a Vice-President and leads the Global AI Research Center for CGI. Dr. Gutiw, who is based in British Columbia, along with her colleague and Canadian AI Lead, Andrew Donaher, recently conducted a detailed analysis on the productivity benefits of AI. Gutiw believes AI is poised to lift Canada’s productivity to new levels.
“We must continue to encourage and push for AI innovation, because the value it brings to improving our lives and businesses is still largely untapped,” Gutiw says. “However, we must do so in a responsible manner, by being thorough and managing risks, in order to ensure that the solutions are accurate, inclusive, transparent, and secure.”
Gutiw adds that Canadian organizations must find intelligent ways to create more value-added products and services with less effort, and AI makes that possible. She says its evolved to become an accessible, versatile, and complementary technology,that allows us to meet the unique and multidimensional challenges of productivity in Canada.
AI: A Catalyst for Economic Growth
Canada’s commitment to AI research and development has already borne fruit, with cities like Montréal, Vancouver, and Toronto emerging as AI hubs. AI’s potential to boost productivity is immense. By automating routine tasks, analyzing large data sets, and optimizing operations, AI can significantly enhance efficiency across various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. This increased productivity is essential for economic growth, especially in a post pandemic world where industries are seeking ways to innovate.
We must continue to encourage and push for AI innovation, because the value it brings to improving our lives and businesses is still largely untapped.
“For business leaders, we believe it is necessary to fully understand the multiple facets of AI to mitigate risks and maximize investment,” Gutiw says. “How the technology works and how and where information is sourced, how to implement it, sustain its benefits, ensure its integrity, reliability and governance, maintain public trust, etc. Transparency about its use is also a vital imperative, regarding the use of AI.”
AI and Productivity
Gutiw points to a recent initiative CGI embarked on in the transportation sector, where AI played a key role in increasing operational efficiency. CGI’s team confronted the challenge by optimizing the client’s service delivery, including reducing the number of empty cargo trips; thereby reducing the carbon footprint of trucks, as well as operating costs. The solution integrated operational research and AI algorithms. Gutiw says these algorithms allowed for solution to predict and continuously learn from dispatcher feedback. Now, the client has visibility into their operational data and a scalable method to manage it and leverage AI driven insights for continued operational improvement.
“CGI is keeping a sharp lens on the future, ambitiously building on our trusted AI foundation to accelerate the AI journey and the race to greater productivity,” Gutiw says. “We recently announced investments of $1 billion over the next three years to continue the expansion of our AI services and solutions in partnership with clients who want to move from experimentation to implementation responsibly.”
To learn more download the report and visit cgi.com.
