CityNews Winnipeg: Winnipeg’s IT sector pleased with federal AI investment

“Don’t be afraid of AI, be afraid of people,” said John Anderson, a professor of Computer Science at the University of Manitoba.

Anderson, who researches AI, says the technology serves an important role in our society, but as its use grows, we also need to be better aware of how it can be used negatively.

“The worst of the bad actors are nation-states, and they are doing that to further their own interests,” said Anderson.

But as we continue to not only rely more on but also invest in AI, a problem that Canada is already facing might just be exacerbated­­­­­: a lack of skilled workers.

“We have a lot of talented students that graduated with high skills in AI,” said Vahab Khoshdel, an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Manitoba. “The issue is that, at least for now for Canada, is that usually U.S. companies pay more. Talented students are probably going to find a job in the U.S. Right now, most jobs in AI are remote, so they don’t have that kind of (immigration) condition anymore.”

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