The federal government is leveraging the Economic Diversification Fund to invest up to $2.5 million in NWT programs related to digital literacy and artificial intelligence.
The funding was announced Friday by Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Economic Development and Cannor.
Up to $2.3 million will be donated to Prosper NWT, the territorial government’s independent enterprise development agency, for an AI-driven entrepreneurship and business support center.
“This three-year project aims to create a center that will develop a set of AI-powered business tools and help businesses develop the skills to use them effectively,” the news release states. “The funds will be used to leverage AI for data and business analytics and develop in-person and online AI training for executives.”
Inuvik Tech Society received $200,000 for digital literacy, online safety, and AI training programs.
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The federal government said the program would help northerners “make the most of innovative new technology while staying safe in a changing digital world”. Cash payments to Yukon and Nunavut were also announced.
AI remains deeply controversial on many levels. Aside from the long-held prospect of extinction in science fiction movies, this technology is already having a significant impact on the environment and the workforce as digital tools replace jobs.
For many people, just seeing artificially generated images on their Facebook feed remains unpleasant. At a time when disinformation was already a huge problem around the world, this technology complicated humans’ ability to determine what was true.
At the same time, AI has already proven that it can make many tasks much easier. Proponents argue that failing to do so would be akin to ignoring the Internet in the 1990s or 2000s, leaving businesses behind.
NWT Industry Minister Caitlin Cleveland was quoted as saying the funding will allow northern businesses to “explore AI in a practical and responsible way” and ultimately “save time, reduce administrative pressure and enhance day-to-day operations.”
Evan Solomon, a former broadcaster and now the federal government’s AI minister, said northern businesses needed technology like this to “remain competitive and thrive in a changing world”.
