Most Canadian companies are not well informed about artificial intelligence and its benefits and have been slow to invest in AI, according to a new report by the Ontario-based Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) supercluster.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents to an NGen online survey of 30 organizations deeply involved in Canada’s AI ecosystem said their business customers were either “not so aware” or “not at all aware” of AI’s benefits.

“The lack of understanding about AI, and practical applications linking academic research and industry was also often cited as a Canadian failing,” said the report, titled "Canada’s Artificial Landscape: Expert opinions.”

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically don’t have readily accessible data or a proper data structure needed to implement AI, said report author and NGen consultant Mark Kirby.

“The No. 1 takeaway message is it’s all about data and companies are going to need a data structure,” Kirby told Research Money.

Collecting data and designing a data structure may be challenging for cash-strapped SMEs, but the worst thing they could do about AI is to ignore it and do nothing, Kirby said.

The global AI market size was estimated at US$62.35 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach US$93.53 billion in 2021, said NGen’s report. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 40.2 percent from 2021 to 2028, reaching US$997.77 billion by 2028.

“Billions of dollars” being left on the table

The AI experts in NGen’s survey and in follow-up interviews said using artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of businesses is worth billions of dollars, but the opportunity is being missed because AI is underexploited in Canada.

For example, one AI expert quoted in the report said that “it’s mind blowing” that VIA Rail Canada doesn't inform passengers that a train is late or on time, or when it will arrive. “Same with public transit buses," the expert said.

Using AI could easily fix this “and would greatly improve the user’s ridership experience,” said the expert.

Another AI expert said that a two-percent improvement in efficiency from AI-controlled processes translates to $10 billion “that is currently left on the table in the chemical industry."

AI also is very under-exploited in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors, according to NGen’s survey. The experts said that AI could be used for designing new spaces, engineering for optimal structural design and preventative maintenance, construction with data collection for safety planning and site coordination, and manufacturing and product design.

On the positive side, Canada's biggest competitive advantage in AI is the country’s academic and research talent. More than two-thirds of respondents cited it as a strength.

However, “while data science is good in Canada, students are not well connected with manufacturing,” the report said.

 AI gives Canada a huge opportunity

The narrow capability of AI — to do difficult but niche tasks — is a potential tremendous opportunity for Canada, given the country’s many SMEs, Kirby said.

Customized AI solutions, coupled with the higher profit margins afforded by digital services, could be a great economic engine, according to NGen’s report.

“A bigger company can’t necessarily generate data faster than a small company,” Kirby said. “I see that as quite empowering for Canada, that we can compete with anybody if we put our minds to it.”

The report cites the example of Ottawa-based BluWave-ai, whose AI predictive technology — which improves efficiency and reduces the carbon footprint in electricity smart grids — yielded up to a 50-percent improvement in energy scheduling accuracy for Summerside Electric in Prince Edward Island.

BlueWave’s solution led to a recent export agreement to deploy the company’s AI platform with Tata Power, a utility in India.

Canada has a very rich landscape of various industrial sectors, according to Kirby. “We can use that and develop AI applications that solve problems, to create a real wealth of AI applications here," he said.

To increase awareness about the potential of AI, NGen plans to launch a web portal in the next six months that will include an interactive asset map of AI solutions across Canada that is searchable by market and technologies, as well as the business drivers and benefits behind each asset.

“The web portal can inform people about what’s going on and provide a two-way, win-win for suppliers and customers,” Kirby said.

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