Let’s capitalize on AI revolution

Montreal is welcoming leading technologists to the city this week for the C2 (commerce/creativity) conference, just as the city could be on the verge of becoming an international hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Capitalizing on this brewing revolution will require governments to drastically alter traditional modus operandi, loosening their grip on the entrepreneurial class and suppressing nationalistic impulses.

Advocating for massive government spending with little restraint admittedly deviates from the tenor of these columns, but the AI business is unlike any other before it. Having leaders acting as fervent advocates for the industry is crucial; resisting the coming technological tide is, as the Borg would say, futile.

The roughly 250 AI researchers who call Montreal home are not simply part of a niche industry. Quebec’s francophone character and Montreal’s multilingual citizenry are certainly factors favouring the development of language technology, but there’s ample opportunity for endeavours with broader applications.

AI isn’t simply a technological breakthrough; it is the technological revolution. In the coming decades, modern computing will transform all industries, eliminating human inefficiencies and maximizing opportunities for innovation and growth — regardless of the ethical dilemmas that will inevitably arise.

“By 2020, we’ll have computers that are powerful enough to simulate the human brain,” said (in 2009) futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of The Singularity Is Near, a seminal 2006 book that has inspired a generation of AI technologists. Kurzweil’s projections are not science fiction but perhaps conservative, as some forms of AI already effectively replace many human cognitive functions. “By 2045, we’ll have expanded the intelligence of our human-machine civilization a billion-fold. That will be the singularity.”

The singularity concept, borrowed from physicists describing event horizons bordering matter-swallowing black holes in the cosmos, is the point of no return where human and machine intelligence will have completed their convergence. That’s when the machines “take over,” so to speak, and accelerate the development of civilization beyond traditional human understanding and capability.

The possibilities for growth in societies that heavily prioritize investment in AI are not just exciting, they are literally infinite.

(Consider contemplating the unlimited expanse of knowledge just within our grasp; then picture a leading AI firm chasing that singularity receiving a letter from the Office québécois de la langue française for having too few French words on its website. If the Quebec government is serious about sprouting a new Silicon Valley, it will have to all but abandon ethnocentric nationalism and identity politics as quantum computing and its proponents see no value in obsolete binaries like the Two Solitudes.)

There are encouraging signs the Quebec government is beginning to understand the importance of this industry. Last week, Premier Philippe Couillard announced a $100-million investment in AI, creating a committee to further fund research and develop related ventures. This is in addition to $125 million committed to Montreal, Toronto and other Canadian AI hubs by the federal government.

Investments from various levels of government, particularly in Quebec, should easily be measured in the billions, and those investments if properly guided would be perfectly sound, given the industry’s potential.

According to an estimate by international consultancy Accenture (arguably on the conservative side), AI could help industrialized nations “double annual economic growth rates 2035,” increasing productivity by 40 per cent.

The goal of positioning Montreal as a Silicon Valley North is awfully alluring, but a nine-figure investment may be insufficient to furthering that goal. The clock is ticking; conditions for innovation will likely improve once a new U.S. president takes office.

As Montreal’s diverse, educated workforce is inspiring international entrepreneurs this week, it is crucial for the inspiration to flow both ways. Following revelations $1 billion will be spent largely on cosmetic infrastructure and various celebrations for Montreal’s 375th, there is no time like the present to advocate for meaningful investment in the economy of the future.