Artificial intelligence is now enabling people to do more with their ability, moving from automation and efficiency to augmentation and proficiency, writes Louis Tétu. (Credit: Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press files)
The history of technology has been a story of automation and efficiency. From the loom to the assembly line, each wave promised us more output with less effort. But that story has fundamentally changed with the arrival of artificial intelligence.
AI is now enabling people to do more with their ability, moving from automation and efficiency to augmentation and proficiency. This isn’t just a nuanced shift in terminology; it’s a total redefinition of how work gets done and value is created.
AI-augmented workforces can handle 30 per cent more complexity and deliver 90 per cent faster. This isn’t a futuristic fantasy; it’s the reality unfolding right now in leading enterprises around the globe. In this new landscape, the story for incumbent companies is no longer simply about innovation; it’s about survival.
I refer to this as “AI or die” because it really is that stark. Without a strong, unambiguous wake-up call for businesses across the country, many of them will be unable to compete with global AI-enabled competitors.
My worry is that a disconnect continues to persist here in Canada. We rightfully lay claim to AI’s intellectual legacy, as our universities and researchers have been at the forefront of foundational AI breakthroughs for decades.
But, while we celebrate our accomplishments, the practical ownership of AI — and its value creation — lies overwhelmingly with global tech companies in the United States and elsewhere. They’re not just building the models; they’re embedding AI into the very fabric of how businesses operate, creating a widening competitive chasm.
The good news is that the game is far from over since most of the economic value will come from building applications on top of AI models and integrating them effectively within businesses.
However, instead of focusing on the application of AI at scale, the Canadian conversation has too often worried about research, privacy and ethics. These are universal concerns, but our U.S. counterparts are more focused on “what AI can do for you” while we over-index on “what AI will do to you.”
Don’t get me wrong, ethical considerations in AI are paramount, and Canada has an important voice in that global discussion. But if our primary focus is responsible AI while the rest of the world aggressively adopts, integrates and monetizes it, we’re missing the bigger picture. If we don’t adopt much faster, our companies will fail and our standard of living will massively erode.
As a leader of an applied AI company, I see the impact of this mindset every day: 98 per cent of our revenue comes from outside Canada, because selling cutting-edge AI applications to a Canadian company is much different than selling globally.
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Our job is simple when selling to a U.S. or German client: we need to convince them that we have the best technology and that there will be a positive financial outcome in solving their challenges. On the other hand, many Canadian clients say they are more interested in experimenting with AI through pilot projects than driving real business outcomes.
Recent research has borne this observation out, with Georgian Partners Growth LP and NewtonX Inc. releasing a survey in July that compared 201 Canadian businesses to 433 similarly-sized peers from other countries. It said just seven per cent of Canadian companies classified their AI adoption as advanced, compared to 17 per cent in other countries.
The need to implement AI goes well beyond optimizing operations; it is about creating new opportunities in an augmented economy. If our companies aren’t leveraging AI to make their workforces more proficient, their customer service more effective, their commerce margins better and their operations more efficient, they will be easily outmanoeuvred by those that are.
Think of it this way: in those areas where your competitor is adopting AI, they could make double-digit gains in months, a quantum leap in efficiency that will be impossible to compete against. This isn’t a theoretical threat; it’s a present danger. In response, we need an urgent national pivot.
The first round of AI value creation belonged to the large multinational tech companies, but the next round will belong to those building applications and to the companies that use AI most effectively. Canada can harvest and own this next wave of innovation, fundamentally transform our economy and raise our standard of living.
But we have a lot of work to do. We need to encourage greater AI adoption, support scaling AI companies, change our failing talent and IP deployment model, and aggressively recruit international talent. If we don’t, we will very quickly see the consequences of trying to compete with a world that has adopted AI more effectively.
Louis Têtu is executive chair of Coveo Solutions Inc.
