As Canada works to implement a national strategy around artificial intelligenceannounced earlier this month, lawyers in Saskatchewan say a provincial version could also help.
The federal government unveiled Canada’s new AI strategy on June 4, focused on scaling up and securing the sector, with six “pillars” of focus.
Alex Fallon, founder of Artificial Intelligence Saskatchewan (AiSK), is welcoming the federal strategy, saying it provides clarity and certainty for industry and academics.
“And now the province can look at it and ask, ‘How can we adapt to it? How does the industry benefit from that strategy?” Fallon said in an interview.
While provinces like Ontario and Alberta have frameworks around their approaches to AI, Saskatchewan does not — something advocates say could help protect jobs and scale the workforce.
“Government supporting the tech sector is absolutely essential to keep our talent here and help attract talent and then really support startups and mid-sized companies to grow,” Fallon said.
In a statement to Global News, Innovation Saskatchewan’s CEO says the province supports the adoption of AI and is helping businesses do so safely.
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“Saskatchewan is taking a responsible and coordinated approach to AI adoption, supporting practical use across our government and economy,” said Kari Harvey.
“Through collaboration with ecosystem partners, we are supporting AI literacy and helping to provide hands-on learning opportunities so Saskatchewan businesses can adopt AI safely and in ways that match their business size, capacity and needs.”
Support for companies using AI is a sentiment shared by Phillip Harder, vice president of Data Science at Croptimistic, a Saskatoon-based agricultural technology company that helps farmers map their land.
“There’s a lot of hype that’s spread around AI, and it becomes a silver bullet, but it’s just the reality that it’s another tool, right? And we still have to learn how to use it,Harder said, noting the costs of integrating technology into businesses.
Croptimistic was given the nod by AI Minister Evan Solomon in his keynote address on the strategy, something Harder said was unexpected and humbling for him and his colleagues.
“We hear about these strategies and all these things, and then suddenly we’re in the second paragraph being mentioned as one of the innovators of AI in agriculture.”
The company is not alone in its use of artificial intelligence, with opportunities and interest growing across the province, particularly in industries in which the province already excels.
“I think the real opportunity for AI in Saskatchewan is how we apply it to our key sectors. So using AI in mining operations, in agriculture, farming and manufacturing, I think that’s going to be a strength where Saskatchewan can play in the AI space,” Fallon said.
As interest in the technology grows, Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner says a provincial strategy could also help protect residents from concerns such as deep fakes and facial recognition.
“Without a lot of guidance and a lot of thought about how it fits, it can really turn into a mass surveillance technique,” said Grace Hession David, Saskatchewan’s information and privacy commissioner, in an interview with Global News.
Hession David says the best way for people to protect themselves from AI at this time is through education.
“We all have to accept that AI is here and it’s going to be the way of the future, there’s no going back from it. But we have to be really aware of it. We have to understand it as best we can. And we know how to approach it,” she said.
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