It seems everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI). Everyone. From senior executives to school kids, the hype - or dread - around this technology seems to be growing by the day. Much of this excitement, of course, has to do with the launch of generative AI applications like ChatGPT and Midjourney, which, for the first time perhaps, have given the average individual a felt sense of AI’s potential. That experience hasn’t just thrilled college students, designers and digital marketers, it has animated businesses and establishments across the world who are imagining an array of new commercial and public...
IntroductionTrustworthy vs Responsible AITrustworthy AIAttributes of trustworthy AI1. Transparent, interpretable and explainable2. Accountable3. Reliable, resilient, safe and secure4. Fair and non-discriminatory5. Committed to privacy and data governanceTrustworthy AI SummaryResponsible AIThe fundamentals of responsible AI1. Ethical Purpose2. Fairness and Non-Discrimination3. Accountability4. Privacy and Data Protection5. Safety and Robustness6. Human-Centric Design7. Inclusivity and AccessibilityResponsible AI SummarySecure AI, Safe AI and the wicked problem of AI alignmentSecure AIThe foundations of AI securityConfidentialityIntegrityAvailabilityChallenges in Securing AIScalabilityEvolving Threat LandscapeIntegration with Existing SystemsData Privacy and GovernanceRobustness and ResilienceSkill and Knowledge GapsAdvanced Techniques and Methodologies in AI SecurityAdversarial TrainingHomomorphic EncryptionAnomaly Detection SystemsDifferential PrivacyFederated LearningSecure Multi-Party Computation...
Ask people on the street how much AI uses today affect their lives, and most would probably answer that it doesn’t affect them right now. Some might say that it’s pure science fiction. Others might say that it may affect our future but isn’t used in our world today. Some might correctly identify a few ways it’s used in modern technology, such as voice-powered personal assistants like Siri, Alexa and Cortana. But most would be surprised to find out how widely it is already woven into the fabric of daily life.
Whether AI and the technologies it enables will reach their full potential depends on the workforce that will work alongside them. Yet the skills that that workforce needs to do this are in short supply. Rather than debating what to do about massive job losses from AI, discussion should focus on how best to prepare workers' skills for the types of jobs that they will need to fill.
A shifting job picture
A 2017 McKinsey’s report says that approximately half of all activities done by the current workforce could be automated. They point out, however, that this does not point to...
To remain competitive, organizations will increasingly have to innovate. As the speed of innovation increases, disrupting whole sectors, competitive intelligence, market intelligence even a bit of futurism will become essential skills.
Leaders will have to stay informed not only of macro trends in their industry but also in technology in general. And they will have to do more than merely report their findings to appropriate people higher in the organization. AI can easily do that. Instead, they will also have to develop a sense for how those trends could impact their organization, so they can assess how to get the...
Growing reliance on AI will not likely result in any of the three most common views of how AI will affect our future. Each view is founded on assumptions that fail to consider all the realities of AI.
That leaves us, however, with an important question as we plan our company’s – and our own – future in an increasingly AI-enabled world: “What will that world look like?”
AI impact on economy
The effect AI will have on the economy is massive. Such was the conclusion of a 2017 PwC report, Sizing the prize: What’s the real value of AI for your business...
Canada has been investing in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for longer than most of the industrialized world. Dr. Geoff Hinton of Google helped ignite the field of graphics processing unit (GPU) deep learning at the University of Toronto. Then he became chief scientific advisor to the Vector Institute, which in collaboration with the University, aims to produce the largest number of deep learning AI graduates and innovators globally. Meanwhile, Montreal, Quebec prides itself as the birthplace of AI. It’s the home of computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who is another pioneer of AI technology. Hundreds of AI researchers...
The automotive industry has revolutionized manufacturing twice.
The first time was in 1913 when Henry Ford introduced a moving assembly line at his Highland Park plant in Michigan. The innovation changed the production process forever, dramatically increasing efficiency, reducing the time it took to build a car, and significantly lowering the cost of the Model T, thereby kickstarting the world’s love affair with cars. The success of this system not only transformed the automotive industry but also had a profound impact on manufacturing worldwide, launching the age of mass production.
The second time was about 50 years later, when General Motors...
In recent years, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many sectors, bringing about significant advancements in various fields. However, one area where AI has presented a dual-edged sword is in information operations, specifically in the propagation of disinformation. The advent of generative AI, particularly with sophisticated models capable of creating highly realistic text, images, audio, and video, has exponentially increased the risk of deepfakes and other forms of disinformation.
In their outstanding book, Wicked and Wise, Alan Watkins and Ken Wilber look at some of the most pressing ‘wicked problems’ facing the human race. ‘Wicked problems,’ they suggest, are difficult to define, but they are essentially unsolvable in the usual scientific sense.
The authors go on: wicked problems, such as climate change, are multi-dimensional, have multiple causes, multiple stakeholders, multiple symptoms and multiple solutions. They are by definition complex and difficult to process.
Crucially, they are created or exacerbated by people.
Our species has proved capable of producing challenges of unfathomable difficulty. We may, however, also prove capable of developing the...
Targeted disinformation poses a significant threat to societal trust, democratic processes, and individual well-being. The use of AI in these disinformation campaigns enhances their precision, persuasiveness, and impact, making them more dangerous than ever before. By understanding the mechanisms of targeted disinformation and implementing comprehensive strategies to combat it, society can better protect itself against these sophisticated threats.
In 2013, George F. Young and colleagues completed a fascinating study into the science behind starling murmurations. These breathtaking displays of thousands – sometimes hundreds of thousands – of birds in a single flock swooping and diving around each other, look from a distance like a single organism organically shape-shifting before the viewer’s eyes.
In their research article, Young et al reference the starling’s remarkable ability to “maintain cohesion as a group in highly uncertain environments and with limited, noisy information." The team discovered that the birds’ secret lay in paying attention to a fixed number of their neighbors –...
Today’s business leadership face a conundrum. Artificial Intelligence (AI) unquestionably will play an enormous role in the future of their organizations and the business environment in which they operate, but what effects will it have? Prognosticators have wildly different visions of the future it will create, ranging from causing the extinction of humanity to ushering in a Golden Age in which machines provide all humanity’s needs and free us to focus on altruistic service to one another and the advancement of human culture.
Both of these most commonly heard predictions are based on assumptions that lead to wild speculation that...
AI leaders must adapt to the changing culture as young workers enter the job market with expectations strikingly different from the ones that leaders traditionally have encountered. These changes within their own business culture are not, though, the only culture changes to which leaders will have to adapt.
AI and other emerging technologies are accelerating the process of globalization. For example, as 3D printers become more prevalent, manufacturers will sell designs rather than finished products. Breaking into new markets won’t be a multiyear, investment-heavy effort. Emerging technologies will greatly reduce logistics requirements and expand old, geographically limited markets into one,...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming ever more important, and not just in automating repetitive, manual labor jobs. Increasingly, it also enters the realm of highly trained knowledge workers. New. AI-driven world will require different skills.
Systems like IBM Watson augment the expertise of tax preparers, lawyers, doctors and many other highly trained professionals. Corporate executives use AI’s ability to gather, analyze and run extensive simulations on data to help them make better-informed decisions. The applications for AI appear almost unlimited.
The implications are clear. AI will reshape not just operations, but also all other aspects of the business world. So, how...