Episode 68 How Canadian Businesses Can Accelerate AI Adoption

The next generation of artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm. We’re seeing rampant innovation from the startup communities innovating from the emergence of large language models. Businesses in Canada, however are slower to hop on this band wagon.

The adoption of generative AI in Canada varies significantly by industry. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, and technology have seen higher adoption rates, whereas manufacturing and retail sectors have been slower to adopt these technologies.

Here are some recent insights:

• According to a survey by McKinsey in 2023, about 23% of Canadian businesses reported incorporating generative AI technologies in their operations. This is lower compared to the United States, where the adoption rate was around 31%, and China, with a rate close to 35% .

• Roughly 1 in 7 Canadian businesses (14%) are early Gen AI adopters

•Larger businesses are nearly twice as likely to use Gen AI than small businesses.

• Global IPSOS surveys reveal that Canadians are less knowledgeable and more nervous about AI than citizens of most other countries.

• Gen AI could grow Canada’s productivity between 1% and 6% over the next decade.

This year, the Canadian government announced that it plans to bolster AI infrastructure and support innovation by investing $2.4 billion in the AI Sector.

We are pleased to welcome Shannon Katschilo, Country Manager of Snowflake, a cloud computing company here in Canada. We aim to unpack the challenges we face when it comes to leveraging and deploying advanced technologies in our businesses. And in light of the recent investment from our federal gov’t, what are the opportunities to ensure Canadian businesses within their sectors remain competitive.