Canada is known for its highly educated population, but its close proximity to the massive US economy has meant it has struggled to retain its talent, particular in the AI sector.
Geoffrey Hinton, the Canadian researcher and Nobel Prize winner nicknamed the “Godfather of AI”, sold his company to US tech giant Google and had worked for the tech firm for years.
Another Canadian talent, Ilya Sutskever, co-founded OpenAI.
The AI strategy promises to fund research fellowships and increase the number of research chairs at Canadian universities focused on AI.
It also wants to attract highly skilled AI workers from elsewhere by offering them a path to accelerated entry and permanent residency to Canada.
The country is also pledging C$500m in investments to Canadian AI companies, which, according to the strategy, would give the government the chance to take equity stakes.
Notably, the strategy promises that 250,000 jobs will be created by scaling up AI across sectors. It does not quantify, however, the number of jobs that could be lost through rapid AI adoption.
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