However, he noted, “despite the recognition, critics would cite that [it] has fallen behind and challenged when it comes to monetizing AI investments. As part of the government’s election platform, the government promised to move fast on building data centers, introduce a tax credit to incentivize AI adoption by small and medium-sized businesses, and push to expand programs at Canada’s artificial intelligence institutes to drive AI commercialization.”
In a commentary on the appointment, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a policy think tank based in Ottawa, Ontario, stated that it “signals a consolidation of federal focus on a field that has historically been spread across numerous portfolios … Solomon’s challenge will be to distinguish between productivity enhancing AI and ‘so-so’ automation — harnessing the benefits of AI, while ensuring adequate regulation to mitigate associated risks.”
AI is a ‘geopolitical force’
Canada, the organization stated, “must close the gap between AI innovation and adoption by pursuing policies that encourage productivity-boosting AI — applications that augment workers and make them more efficient, rather than simply replace them. The answer is a multi-level policy framework that accelerates the uptake of AI in ways that enhance output, job quality, and workforce participation.”
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