A new survey shows that Canadian companies are not adopting artificial intelligence (AI) technology as quickly as U.S. counterparts — and it may be putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
The survey from KPMG polled 250 companies with revenue of $500 million or higher, 90 of which were in Canada and 160 in the U.S., between Feb. 21 and 26, 2023.
It found that 35 per cent of Canadian companies are using AI in their operations compared with 72 per cent of companies in the U.S., and only 37 per cent of Canadian companies are experimenting with the platform ChatGPT, compared with 65 per cent of U.S. companies.
AI has been picking up steam recently with the popularity of platforms such as ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses natural language to provide answers and solutions to problems posed to it.
KPMG said in a statement that AI is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for businesses and has been used in organizations in health care, education, law enforcement and financial services to boost efficiency and productivity.
Of the Canadian organizations surveyed, more than 40 per cent are using AI in call centres, while 53 per cent say they could be using it more effectively.
Get daily National news
“Canadian organizations are trailing behind their U.S. counterparts when it comes to AI adoption, and it comes at a time when developments in the space are moving fast — particularly in generative AI,” said Benjie Thomas, Canadian managing partner, advisory services at KPMG in Canada.
Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, uses algorithms to produce content quickly, according to KPMG.
“Generative AI can be powerful if used correctly and responsibly, and it enables businesses to be more efficient, productive and competitive.
“Canadian businesses that aren’t adopting AI today might be putting themselves at risk of falling behind, especially as competitors south of the border continue to advance in this field.”
ChatGPT has already been disruptive in education as students have been using it to produce school work, and it has been banned in some school districts, such as in New York City.
AI’s rise, though, has come with a warning from leading scientists, who say that if it progresses too quickly, it could be harmful to society. Last month, a letter signed by over 1,000 leaders in the industry called for a pause on the development of AI technology for six months so regulation can catch up. Among the letter’s signees was Elon Musk, who helped start OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
Daniel Tsai, a business and law lecturer at the University of Toronto, told Global News that AI is a “game-changer” when it comes to business, and the breadth of tasks it can accomplish means it can save more money.
“The more complex, thinking-type tasks, that represents more jobs and more potential cost savings if you’re able to get AI to do the more complicated tasks,” he said.
However, he said that there is more investment in research and development in the U.S. than in Canada, which gives it a leg up in innovation, including the use of AI technology. He added that implementing AI will also take specialized workers, of which Canada has a shortage.
KPMG said in its report that the main challenges preventing companies from using AI effectively are the lack of skilled talent and quality data to train AI algorithms. Forty-seven per cent of Canadian businesses said they lack the in-house expertise to validate and verify the accuracy of their AI algorithms.
“We are now so desperate for knowledge workers that we’re recruiting them through immigration,” Tsai said. “That shows the domestic supply is not there.”
Comments