It has impressive research bench strength. It has billions of federal dollars for the taking. It香蕉视频直播檚 kind of a nice place to live.
But when it comes to turning knowledge of artificial intelligence into companies, products and investment, Canada is lagging behind 香蕉视频直播� and, some experts argue, actively shooting itself in the foot.
Why give up all that brain power to Silicon Valley?
That was a major line of questioning as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke recently with tech journalists on a niche New York Times podcast.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e proud of Canada香蕉视频直播檚 early role in developing AI,香蕉视频直播� Trudeau said on Hard Fork, noting that many breakthroughs have happened because Canadian scientists are well-funded.
In 2017, Canada became the first country to have a national AI strategy. It launched a second phase five years later, allocating $443 million to connect research capacity with programs aimed at enabling commercialization.
This year香蕉视频直播檚 federal budget included an additional $2.4-billion investment in AI. And the government has boasted that Canada has 10 per cent of 香蕉视频直播渢he world香蕉视频直播檚 top-tier AI researchers, the second most in the world.香蕉视频直播�
Among them are two so-called godfathers of AI.
But Ottawa is 香蕉视频直播渇ighting to make sure we keep our skin in the game,香蕉视频直播� Trudeau told the podcast hosts.
He made the pitch, saying Canada has many of the ingredients it needs: among other things, clean energy, a good quality of life for workers and government programs to encourage the sector.
In spite of that, Canada hasn香蕉视频直播檛 always been 香蕉视频直播済reat at commercializing,香蕉视频直播� Trudeau conceded.
More than that, Canadians have 香蕉视频直播渇allen far behind,香蕉视频直播� argued Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators, which represents the tech sector.
The government spent 香蕉视频直播渁 tremendous amount on the talent side of the equation,香蕉视频直播� he said recently, but not on converting it 香蕉视频直播渋nto building companies.香蕉视频直播�
Bergen said the government has 香蕉视频直播渋nstitutionalized the transfer of our AI intellectual property to foreign firms.香蕉视频直播�
The government香蕉视频直播檚 2022 strategy update promised that the country香蕉视频直播檚 three AI institutes are 香蕉视频直播渉elping to translate research in artificial intelligence into commercial applications and growing the capacity of businesses to adopt these new technologies.香蕉视频直播�
But Bergen argued an AI strategy focused on commercialization must start with Canada owning its own IP. 香蕉视频直播淵ou cannot commercialize what you don香蕉视频直播檛 own.香蕉视频直播�
Intellectual property lawyer Jim Hinton has been trying to quantify that problem.
And the numbers show 香蕉视频直播渁 train wreck I香蕉视频直播檝e been watching happen in slow motion,香蕉视频直播� he said.
About three-quarters of patents produced by researchers who work for Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 Vector Institute and Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 Mila leave the country, and most of these are in the hands of Big Tech, Hinton香蕉视频直播檚 research has found.
Another 18 per cent of the 244 patents he tracked 香蕉视频直播� 198 from Vector and 46 from Mila 香蕉视频直播� are now owned by North American academic institutions.
Just seven per cent are held in the Canadian private sector.
Of the foreign-owned patents, the largest number, 65, went to Uber, while 35 landed with the Walt Disney Company. Nvidia, which recently displaced Microsoft as the world香蕉视频直播檚 most valuable company, got 34.
IBM ended up with 15 and Google with 12. A handful of the patents were co-owned.
Foreign companies benefit from Canada香蕉视频直播檚 public funding, Hinton argued, and there are 香蕉视频直播渘o guardrails put on the ability for these foreign companies to basically pillage Canada香蕉视频直播檚 really good AI invention.香蕉视频直播�
Researchers can work at the AI institutes and foreign tech companies at the same time, Hinton said, charging that this is what allows the tech giants to take advantage.
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, which co-ordinates the government香蕉视频直播檚 AI strategy, pushed back strongly on that assertion.
Executive director Elissa Strome said a 香蕉视频直播渟mall number of our researchers香蕉视频直播� have part-time employment in the private sector.
香蕉视频直播淭hose private-sector organizations own the rights to the IP that is generated by those researchers,香蕉视频直播� she said, but only when they香蕉视频直播檙e on the clock for those companies.
Strome said it香蕉视频直播檚 long-standing practice in Canadian research 香蕉视频直播渢hat there are relationships around contract research with industry,香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渁 really strong firewall香蕉视频直播� is in place between IP generated via public funds at the AI institutes and that which is generated through private funds.
She said Hinton香蕉视频直播檚 statistic on patents was inaccurate, but did not provide data to refute his findings.
She also argued that patents are not a good measure of commercialization, and 香蕉视频直播渋t香蕉视频直播檚 the people that we香蕉视频直播檙e training in the AI ecosystem that actually hold the greatest value in AI, not patents.香蕉视频直播�
When it comes to sponsorship agreements at Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 Vector, any IP created at the institute 香蕉视频直播渂elongs to Vector,香蕉视频直播� a spokesperson said, adding it is not the primary employer for most of its researchers.
If academics don香蕉视频直播檛 have an opportunity to work for companies, they香蕉视频直播檙e more likely to leave altogether, Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 Mila said in a statement. It said the three institutes have turned around a 香蕉视频直播渕assive brain drain in AI in Canada香蕉视频直播� that existed prior to 2017.
The multi-billion-dollar investment in this year香蕉视频直播檚 budget seeks to further protect against that brain drain by beefing up Canadian infrastructure and computing power.
The envelope includes a 香蕉视频直播渞elatively small香蕉视频直播� amount of money to help Canadian companies scale up, noted Paul Samson, president of the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Overall, the government is 香蕉视频直播渄oing the right thing香蕉视频直播� by ensuring that香蕉视频直播檚 part of the equation, he said.
But people in the tech sector are skeptical. Bergen said companies were given little time to provide input.
香蕉视频直播淭he government already had a top-down strategy that it wanted to implement 香蕉视频直播� and didn香蕉视频直播檛 really care what CEOs and leaders of domestic firms were actually needing in order to be successful,香蕉视频直播� he said.
Nicole Janssen, co-CEO of AI company AltaML, raised the concern that the Canadian government might end up simply throwing money at American firms to move north.
香蕉视频直播淲hat I香蕉视频直播檓 trying to figure out is how the government thinks they香蕉视频直播檙e going to spend $2 billion on building computers without just handing that $2 billion to Microsoft,香蕉视频直播� Janssen said.
The budget said the money would go towards both access to computational power and developing AI infrastructure that is Canadian-owned and located in Canada.
A spokesperson for Industry Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne said more details would be provided in the coming weeks.
Companies like Microsoft and Nvidia are already looking to Canada as a place to build computing infrastructure, Janssen said, due to factors like climate and relative political stability.
香蕉视频直播淲e don香蕉视频直播檛 need to do anything to attract them.香蕉视频直播�
A better approach, Janssen said, would see the government helping Canadian firms adopt AI more quickly 香蕉视频直播� a gap her company has been trying to help fill.
It takes AltaML an average of 18 months to start building an AI product in Canada, she said, compared to four months in the United States.
香蕉视频直播淲e definitely do not have the ecosystem of companies that you would expect for the amount of talent that we have,香蕉视频直播� she said.
There香蕉视频直播檚 real clout at Canada香蕉视频直播檚 AI institutes, with veterans Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton heading up Mila and Vector, respectively.
They and other elite researchers have 香蕉视频直播渁ttracted students from all over the world to come study under them,香蕉视频直播� said Janssen, and that香蕉视频直播檚 a big advantage for Canada, especially if it wants, as Trudeau said on the podcast, to lead in developing a more democratic AI.
The prime minister said one of his biggest preoccupations is maximizing 香蕉视频直播渢he chance that it actually leads to better outcomes and better lives for everyone香蕉视频直播� instead of only benefiting those 香蕉视频直播渨ith the deepest pockets.香蕉视频直播�
Canada could be a leader in responsible AI, Janssen said.
香蕉视频直播淭hat is a title that is up for grabs,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淎nd no one has grabbed it yet.香蕉视频直播�
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