Carney's campaign made big promises for AI. Will his government deliver?

Mark Carney's promise to lead a Canadian economic transformation includes a renewed focus on artificial intelligence, which the new prime minister listed as a key pillar of his plan.

Experts say they are encouraged by Carney's campaign pledge to invest in the technology. But they say that after establishing itself as a leader in the early decades of AI development, Canada risks falling farther behind other countries if his government doesn't deliver.

"They care about the right stuff and I think they are generally on the right track," said Lawrence Zhang, head of policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness.

"I don't know if they're going to deliver or not. But it's extremely important that they do deliver."

During the election campaign, Carney announced up to $15,000 for workers in priority sectors to learn how to use AI. The Liberal platform also promised to invest $2.5 billion in digital infrastructure like chips and data centres through the next two fiscal years.

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The platform also promised a 20 per cent tax credit for small- and medium-sized businesses on AI adoption projects, costing $400 million through the 2028-29 fiscal year. And it promised to expand national AI institutes or create a new Office of Digital Transformation, although those ideas weren't costed.

Carney's focus on AI is not new. In 2021, he signalled that rapidly capitalizing on AI would be key to grasping what he called the coming digital transformation in his book Value(s).

"Rapid improvements in computing power, the greater availability of big data and advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning all mean smarter machines are already replacing a broader range of human activities than before," Carney wrote.

Adegboyega Ojo, the Canada Research Chair in Governance and Artificial Intelligence, says the platform lacks a plan to stimulate constant investment — key to creating a healthy AI ecosystem.

"Private money could come in. It doesn't have to be government putting in everything," Ojo said. "Can we stimulate investment in that sector? That's the point here."

Zhang said Canada is behind other countries in AI development, which could be devastating for foreign competitiveness and Canadian economic prosperity.

"It's not too late for us," said Zhang, who co-authored a commentary on the subject for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank. "The window is closing, but we can still lead in how AI is deployed."

Julien Billot, the CEO of Scale AI, a federally funded Global Innovation Cluster, said AI will inevitably become an important part of the Canadian economy.

"We are in a world driven by electricity and software," Billot said. "AI is just another layer on software and it's going to improve software, whether we like it or not."

AI was a growing priority in former prime minister Justin Trudeau's government. His 2024 budget announced $2.4 billion for Canada's AI sector over five years.

Ojo said that investment is a step in the right direction, but a "one-time thing" is not enough to sustain an AI ecosystem that is attractive to private investors.

Billot added that Canada's AI sector is competing with powerful players like the United States, China and Europe that have more money to strengthen their own domestic sectors.

The Carney government hasn't announced a specific timeline for some of his AI-related promises, such as a new Office of Digital Transformation.

"AI has been and remains a priority given its enormous potential to support transformation across all sectors, including in government," a Privy Council Office spokesperson told the CBC News in an email.

Zhang said a national buy-in on AI could deliver better tools for teachers, shorter hospital wait times or even grow paycheques for the average Canadian.

"How can we actually leverage this across the economy? This is not just a bunch of tech companies with ping pong tables," Zhang said.

According to Billot, the importance of a well-developed domestic AI sector is an issue of sovereignty. By relying on AI developed by other countries, Billot said Canada would sacrifice control over the technology. Maintaining such control is something the government is increasingly weighing, including in the defence industry.

"It's like an army," Billot said. "If you never build your own arms, you are always at the hand of somebody else."