Achi news desk-
The federal government will spend $2.4-billion to boost access to critical artificial intelligence infrastructure, build domestic computing capacity and create safeguards against the potential downsides of AI technology, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday.
The revelation was the latest in a series of almost daily pre-budget announcements, where the government has been revealing its spending plans ahead of the release of the full federal budget on April 16.
Canada is home to world-leading AI researchers, but in recent years the country has lagged behind in providing the infrastructure needed for the growing field, particularly the advanced computer chips that essential for building and running AI models. The change has led many to call for more government intervention.
Although Mr. Trudeau offered few details in his announcement, which he made during a news conference in Montreal, many in the industry celebrated the promised investment. Others said past experience with government spending announcements had left them skeptical of Ottawa’s ability to deliver on the new promises.
Money to build and make more computing power accessible will be the most significant part of the new spending.
In a news release, the government said $2 billion will be split between two new initiatives. One of them, the AI ​​Computing Access Fund, aims to provide “near-term support” to industry and researchers. The government did not provide any further details, but one way of providing this support would be through facilitation access to computing power from foreign tech giants. The other initiative, Canada’s AI Sovereign Computing Strategy, is intended to accelerate the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
“Access to computing power and capital are two of the biggest barriers to developing new AI models or applications,” Mr Trudeau said.
The government did not specify how much of the $2 billion would go to access and how much would go to building domestic computing power.
An official from the Department of Finance told The Globe and Mail that the money would be spent over five years, and that more details would be released in next week’s budget. The Globe does not know the official because they were not allowed to discuss detailed spending plans.
The announcement of Mr. Trudeau’s AI spending follows more than a week of other funding announcements in areas including child care and housing, totaling tens of billions of dollars in new federal loans and spending. Until the budget is released next week, it will remain unclear how the new spending will affect the federal government’s bottom line.
Not accounting for the new spending announced so far, last year’s budget projected the federal deficit for 2024-25 to be $35 billion. At his news conference, Mr Trudeau was asked about his government’s spending and about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s call for the government to find a dollar of cuts for every new dollar spent.
“We invest responsibly,” said Mr. Trudeau, adding in French that “a confident country invests in itself, invests in its citizens, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today.”
A government news release said it will also spend $200-million to help accelerate the adoption of AI in critical sectors and help startups bring new AI technologies to market. Another $100-million will help SMEs scale up and increase productivity through AI, the government said, while an additional $50-million will provide new skills training for workers displaced by AI.
Another $50-million will create a new AI Safety Institute of Canada, and $5.1-million will be set aside for enforcement of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, legislation aimed at regulating AI introduced in 2022 but not yet passed the House. of Commons.
The announcement was widely applauded by AI research leader Yoshua Bengio, whose role in developing the technology has earned him (along with two others) the nickname “the godfather of AI.” He is a professor at the Université de Montréal, and the founder and scientific director of the Quebec AI institute, called Mila. He was among the speakers at Mr.
“The Canadian government is acting responsibly and placing itself on the right side of history with this announcement,” said Professor Bengio.
Speaking in French, he said that such investments are essential for economic development and an essential tool for addressing national security and geopolitical challenges. Countries that lack AI computing infrastructure risk being left behind, he said.
He also said that the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, where he co-directs the Learning in Machines and Brains program, was mandated to create the security institute. The scientific questions that the organization will address are existential and really need to be figured out, he said.
“How do we build future AI systems that may even surpass human intelligence, that are also safe? That won’t turn against humans? We don’t know how to do that,” said Professor Bengio. “It is urgent to invest in this.”
AI systems require tremendous computing power, and that need is expected to increase as the technology becomes more common and new applications are developed.
Canada ranks fifth in the world for its AI capability, according to the Turtle Global AI Index, which measures countries based on a variety of factors. But when ranked on AI infrastructure alone, Canada falls to 23rd.
Some experts said they don’t is convinced that the Ottawa announcement will lead to significant improvement.
Jim Balsillie, the former chief executive of BlackBerry Ltd, described the plans as a good idea. But he said the government “has not demonstrated the ability to competently design or execute such investments.”
Others, including Own Innovation founder Jim Hinton, said they were concerned that the federal announcement did not address AI-related intellectual property issues.
Mr Hinton, whose firm supports technology companies on intellectual property strategy, said he was skeptical about the future of the new venture, given the fact that past government innovation initiatives had been canceled or delayed.
“I’m afraid this is just another announcement without execution or substance,” he said. “Call me when the results and Canadian AI companies are globally competitive at scale, or more likely, call me when the program is wildly unsuccessful.”
The Conservative Party said in a statement that it does not believe that the government is competent enough to implement the announced plan.
With a report by Sean Silcoff
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