Patrick Pichette, Joelle Pineau, and Dan Debow among those tapped by federal government.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inovia Capital partner Patrick Pichette, Cohere chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer Joelle Pineau, and Build Canada founder Dan Debow are among 26 members of AI minister Evan Solomon\u2019s \u201cAI strategy task force\u201d trusted to help the federal government renew its AI strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the second great technological revolution in the last quarter-century. It is incumbent on everyone in this room, all of us, and our government, to make it ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Solomon revealed the roster, filled with leading Canadian researchers and business figures, while speaking at the Empire Club in Toronto on Friday morning. He teased its formation<\/a> at the ALL IN conference earlier this week, saying the team would include \u201cinnovative thinkers from across the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The group will have 30 days to add to a collective consultation process in areas including research, talent, commercialization, safety, education, infrastructure, and security.<\/p>\n \u201c[AI] is the second great technological revolution in the last quarter-century,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cIt is incumbent on everyone in this room, all of us, and our government, to make it ours.\u201d<\/p>\n Other notable industry names on the list include Council of Canadian Innovators president Ben Bergen, CloudOps CEO Ian Rae, LawZero co-president Sam Ramadori<\/a>, and League CEO Michael Serbinis.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the academic side, University of British Columbia professor Gail Murphy, University of Alberta professor Michael Bowling, and University of Waterloo dean of engineering Mary Wells are also among those helping shape the government\u2019s AI direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n The group will report back to Solomon in November, fuelling the federal government\u2019s refreshed national AI strategy, which the AI minister pledged would be tabled this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is going to be our roadmap,\u201d Solomon said at ALL IN. \u201cIt was supposed to be [tabled] at the end of next year; [we] can\u2019t afford to wait.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: Canada will update AI strategy a year ahead of schedule: Evan Solomon<\/a><\/p>\n In a fireside chat with Toronto Star editor-in-chief Nicole MacIntyre following the announcement, Solomon said the tight, 30-day timeline avoids creating outdated policy.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo things happen in government too often: \u2018pilot-itis\u2019 and \u2018committee-itis,\u2019\u201d Solomon said. \u201cWe can\u2019t talk ourselves to death on this.\u201d<\/p>\n Solomon observed that admission to the task force was in high demand, but he feels it is ultimately balanced in \u201call sorts of ways,\u201d with different representation from across the country. The government will also open public consultations on Oct. 1, so Canadians not on the list can provide their feedback.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDo I expect people to read this list and to drop a ball of confetti on my head? No, because it ain\u2019t going to be perfect,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the goal. The goal is to be effective and to be open.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada had been iterating on its AI strategy for several years under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, beginning in 2017<\/a> with a $125-million commitment. The strategy evolved with further funding<\/a> for Canada\u2019s AI institutes and innovation clusters in 2022 before the government pledged<\/a> $2.4 billion in the 2024 budget to support compute<\/a> and bring new AI tech to market.<\/p>\n