Event summary produced by The Globe and Mail Events team. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.
AI advancements are creating opportunities for business leaders to rethink how their companies operate — but they require organizational buy-in and critical thinking around data governance.
This year has been rife with cautionary messages about generative AI, with prominent researchers and technology leaders calling for a pause on development while regulations and safeguards catch up.
On Sept. 11, 2023 The Globe and Mail hosted an event focused on generative AI and business applications of the future.
Ajay Agrawal, founder of the Creative Destruction Lab and author of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction, opened the event with a keynote on how businesses are seizing AI opportunities.
Next, Rita Trichur, Globe and Mail senior business writer and columnist, moderated a panel on guardrails and governance. Graham Taylor, research director of the Vector Institute, Rob Dunlap, partner and generative AI practice leader at IBM Consulting and Temi Odesanya, director of AI governance automation at Thomson Reuters, shared their insights on how to take a measured and thoughtful approach to AI governance.
Following the panel Foteini Agrafioti, head of Borealis AI and chief science officer at RBC, Richard Zuroff, senior vice president of growth at BlueDot Inc. and Gary Bogdani, head of North America data science and Canada data and analytics at Unilever, shared case studies of how they are utilizing generative AI in their everyday work. After the presentations they sat down with Globe and Mail technology reporter, Temur Durrani for a panel discussion on how to use AI strategically.
Next, Globe and Mail standards editor, Sandra Martin, spoke with Jonathan Siddharth, CEO and co-founder of Turing, Frincy Clement, ambassador for Women in AI Canada and Elisa Schaeffer, academic director of the technology and innovation domain at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies, who shared their opinions on how to prepare the current and future workforce for an AI future.
Dave McCann, president of IBM Canada, and managing partner of IBM Consulting Canada summed up the day before turning the stage over to Jennifer Turliuk, innovator & founding CEO of MakerKids for a keynote interview with Globe and Mail education reporter, Caroline Alphonso. Turliuk shared her insights on how Generative AI might impact education and in-demand skills.
The Globe and Mail presented the event with sponsor support from IBM. To learn about upcoming events please visit www.globeandmail.com/events.