The evolution of AI is perhaps most transformative in its impact on quality of life, particularly in health care. By shifting the administrative burden to AI tools, clinicians can return their full attention to patient care.GORODENKOFF VIA GETTY IMAGES
Imagine a parallel reality where, upon the release of the smartphone, Canadians collectively decided the technology was too risky, complex or unnecessary. While the rest of the world optimized communication and commerce through pocket-sized computers, Canada opted out.
According to Joan Hertz, chair of the board at Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), Canada stands on a similar precipice today. “I see other countries advancing faster than Canada because they are willing to embrace AI across industries,” says Ms. Hertz. “It is no longer optional for Canada’s competitiveness; it is the deciding factor.”
As one of Canada’s three national AI institutes, Amii stands at the forefront of a paradox: Canada leads the world in AI research yet lags its G7 peers in adoption. Despite adoption doubling to 12 per cent in 2025, failing to translate research into practice jeopardizes our prosperity.
This is fundamentally a productivity issue – the measure of how effectively we use our resources. When industries fail to innovate, the resulting “efficiency gap” acts as a silent tax paid by consumers through higher prices and diminished services.
Cam Linke“ If we use the best tools to produce goods and services, we can positively impact the productivity and affordability challenges currently facing Canadians.
CEO at Amii
Closing the gap, however, requires considering the full breadth of AI options.
Generative AI, which is brilliant at summarizing data, may not always be the right or complete tool to unlock industrial scale productivity, which often needs ingrained logic and reliable decision-making found in other AI disciplines.
Industrial productivity specifically benefits from the goal-oriented optimization of Reinforcement Learning (RL), a field where Amii is recognized as a global epicentre. This status was recently cemented by the A.M. Turing Award given to their chief scientific advisor Richard S. Sutton for his pivotal work in the field.
This research excellence is the foundation for industry impact. By moving these home-grown innovations from the lab and into the real world, Canada can leverage its most potent economic lever.
Amii CEO Cam Linke notes that the benefits of this transition are clear. “If we use the best tools to produce goods and services, we can positively impact the productivity and affordability challenges currently facing Canadians.”
The cost of inaction is already visible. When Canadian companies stall, global competitors fill the void. Ms. Hertz observes that foreign entities often capitalize on Canadian know-how to produce goods at lower costs and higher quality. This erodes Canada’s influence within the G7, transitioning the nation from an economic leader to a net consumer of other nations’ innovations.
This challenge is most acute for Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent 48 per cent of private-sector GDP. By 2030, AI could unlock $100-billion in annual gains for SMEs, yet these firms often lack “innovation budgets” for experiments. They need a clear line of sight to tangible value.
Amii bridges this gap by employing a “stage-gate” approach to de-risk adoption, deconstructing the process into manageable milestones that validate ROI at every step. This pragmatic framework addresses the tension between growth and risk.
Joan Hertz“ I see other countries advancing faster than Canada because they are willing to embrace AI across industries. It is no longer optional for Canada’s competitiveness; it is the deciding factor.
Chair of the Board at Amii
Mr. Linke cites a company that scaled operations while maintaining rigorous quality control through an Amii-designed “human-in-the-loop” system. By handling vast quantities of data while flagging complex samples for human review, the AI model enabled experts to stay focused on more strategic work – a tangible example of protecting quality while driving productivity.
Beyond efficiency, AI serves as a democratizing force. Ms. Hertz points to the work of Canadian-born 2025 Nobel Laureate Peter Howitt, who demonstrated that innovation is a more powerful engine of growth than capital accumulation alone. “AI enables small businesses to compete and win,” says Ms. Hertz. By lowering the barriers to complex data analysis, AI allows boutique firms to rival major corporations on speed and insight, effectively levelling the playing field.
Ultimately, the most profound impact of this adoption is found in the daily lives of Canadians. In an economy strained by labour shortages and burnout, AI acts as a critical relief valve. By automating the “clerical noise” that bogs down talent, these tools can save the average worker up to 125 hours per year – reclaiming three weeks of productivity annually.
“It makes employees more valuable,” says Mr. Linke. “Instead of rote data management, people spend time on the problem solving that drove them to their careers in the first place.”
This evolution is perhaps most transformative in its impact on our quality of life, particularly in health care. By shifting the administrative burden to AI tools, clinicians can return their full attention to patient care, restoring the essential human element to one of our most critical services.
“We need our AI adoption ‘elbows up’ to advance our economy,” says Ms. Hertz.
“Let’s be ambitious.”
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.