Emerging Technologies with Mario Malouin, PhD, CPA, CA: AI Edition

Emerging technologies are something that innovative organizations should continue to pay close attention to. Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, business platforms, cyber security, crypto currency, and more all set the stage for organizations to have the future in mind when considering long-term planning and innovation.

This past quarter, Innovators Alliance has placed focus on AI and educating members about the potential that exists as it relates to this emerging technology. In this blog we dive into a Q&A on the topic with Mario Malouin, PhD, CPA, CA, the Chairperson of our upcoming Ottawa Chapter (you can read his full bio at the end of the blog). We asked Mario a series of questions about AI to share his expert insights with you.

What is AI and why is it something Canadian organizations should be paying attention to?

The word AI has two components. The first one is intelligence. Intelligence is a concept that we use in our daily lives that seems to have a concrete meaning. Although this intuitive notion of intelligence presents us with no difficulties, scientists have not been able to come up with a generally accepted definition of intelligence. Since there is no generally accepted definition of intelligence, there are many competing ones, including the capacity of logic, understanding, planning, emotional, knowledge, self-awareness, creativity, and problem solving. As a result of that, there is no generally accepted definition of artificial intelligence. From a practical standpoint, intelligence can be defined as a measure of skill-acquisition efficiency over a specific task, with respect to prior knowledge, experience, and local generalization ability. As a result, artificial intelligence is a non-biological intelligence.

What role is AI playing in the development of business automation?

AI today plays a key role in the execution of specific tasks, which can be referred to as narrow AI.

Will jobs be lost due to AI, or will AI create new job opportunities?

A large and growing strain of literature on the potential job loss due to AI has been published over the past decade. Many of these studies tend to simplify the feasibility of the automation of a task. To keep it simple, the more human judgment is involved in the execution of a task, the more difficult it is for AI to execute the task.

A job is the sum of a number of tasks. A variety of tasks can be executed by AI today and this trend will continue. We can and will observe a gradual cohabitation of humans and AI to execute some tasks. As a result, the skills and knowledge required from a human for a specific job will evolve as some tasks for a specific job are reallocated to AI.

How prominent do you think AI will be for businesses in the coming next year? How about in the next 10 years?

This is a difficult question to answer. If we keep it simple, AI can impact a business in three different ways. First, contributing to improve management practices and reduce cost (cost reduction). Second, contributing to generate new streams of revenue. Lastly, AI can impact the long-term strategy of a business.

How unavoidable is the evolution of AI-centric businesses?

AI is here to stay. Like many other technologies, such as electricity, AI will impact all industries over time at different levels and magnitudes. AI will not revolutionize the business environment overnight. It is an evolution that we are witnessing, and businesses must adapt their models as a result of this technology.

At Innovators Alliance we cover topics like this so that you are in the know about important considerations as it relates to preparing your business for growth. Interested in knowing more about Innovators Alliance? Visit www.innovators.org or reach out to us to participate in a complementary chat on engaging topics, such as the one covered in this blog.

More about Mario Malouin PhD, CPA, CA

Mario Malouin, PhD, CPA, CA, is a visiting professor at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, the Chairperson for the upcoming Ottawa Chapter of the Innovators Alliance, an Executive in Residence at i-Canada Alliance and The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, as well as an Executive Advisor for CEOs of High Impact Firms at BDC. Mario is a member of the Quebec Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants and the Ontario Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants.