good morning. Artificial intelligence continues to change the game of business, and this year businesses feel they can get a lot of mileage from tools that may not be 100% reliable. But not every CEO is trying to throw away the vast numbers of employees, but they definitely think about AI. That's the focus today, and it also maps US tariffs around the world.
First
In the news
resource: Wood producers praise federal plans to diversify markets amid a trade war with us
Institutional Investment: Manulife pushes into private lending in transactions to buy majority shares at US company Combest
EVS: US startup says it wants to take over Northvolt's site for Quebec's future battery factory
With our radar
- Conservative leader Pierre Poilier said the anti-government imposed by Ottawa must be narrow in scope to limit its impact on Canadians.
- After meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, the leaders of three Metis organisations say Ottawa is optimistic to respect Indigenous rights in the laws of major projects
- The defense review strongly insisted that Ottawa should stick to its plan to buy the F-35 jet, two sources familiar with the issue said
The Canadian CEO has embraced the generation AI for its speed and efficiency, and expects employees to board.Illustrations by Kuba Ferenc
Focus
How Canadian CEOs are accelerating AI deployment
Hello, I'm Joe Castaldo. At the beginning of the year, I wrote the feature How Canadian companies were adopting generative artificial intelligence. There was a lot of enthusiasm, but the actual effort to implement AI was pretty lukewarm. Companies were experimenting with pilot projects, worrying about privacy, security, accuracy and employee education. They were also simply working on what to do with new technology.
I did some interviews with them at the end of last year. When my colleague Sean Silkov and I started making calls recently, we learned that a lot has changed. Our function today shows how to do that. There were significant changes among the more than 12 CEOs and executives we both interviewed.
First, some tech CEOs are nervous. For them, AI is both an opportunity and an existential threat. They are worried about how AI coding tools will allow a completely new company to grow faster with fewer employees and fewer funds than before. Jason Smith, CEO of Vancouver Tech Company Klue, recently gave up 40% of his employees as he believes he has to reform his company to compete in the age of AI.
As part of its long-term AI adaptation strategy, Klue CEO and co-founder Jason Smith announced a massive layoff in June.Kayla Isomura/The Globe and Mail
Anxious CEOs make it difficult for employees to use AI. The friendly finesse to experiment was replaced by directives and powers of attorney. Some people say that employees are expected to use AI every day, and that their use will be evaluated in performance reviews. GeoTab assigns employees an AI score. “We're replacing people who don't use AI,” CEO Neil Cawse said.
Executives also say they are beginning to see productivity gains from AI tools Think hard about the number of employees you need. Some of the tech companies we spoke to are increasing revenue without adding employees. League CEO Michael Selvinis said there are some roles he doesn't think he'll hire again. Meanwhile, Alayacare is currently not hiring entry-level coders for what it can do with AI tools, said CEO Adrian Schauer.
Does this mean we are heading towards a work apocalypse? that's right Some famous AI developers claim. But, as other experts have told us, AI tools are available to everyone. Companies looking to cut employees and reduce costs risk being crushed by competitors who want to use AI to grow faster and pursue more business opportunities. “If all jobs consist of 100 tasks, these 100 tasks will not be the same in the future,” said Jodie Wallis, Chief AI Executive at Manulife.
Of the more than 12 CEOs and executives interviewed on The Globe and Mail, there have been significant changes in getting closer to AI.Illustrations by Kuba Ferenc
There are still a few things that carry generative AI. I haven't heard much about accuracy and reliability this time, but it remains an issue that can limit usage. It can help explain why, for example, in the financial sector. Generated AI use cases are for employeesNot a customer who can cause PR headaches when something goes wrong.
There are about 80% of companies No significant bottom line effects are seen From AI, and 90% of more sophisticated pilot projects are stuck at that stage. McKinsey & Company.
Additionally, trade-offs may be discovered in time. AI may be able to increase productivity, but it also changes the way we work, and isn't necessarily the best.
However, our reports show that businesses are not waiting for anything around. With AI, it shows that things can change drastically with anxiety.
Let's see where we're going in another year. Or six months.
mapping
Trump's wide range of tariffs will be enforced
Trump began imposing higher import taxes in dozens of countries yesterday, just as his months-long economic influx of tariff threats began to produce visible damage to the American economy. Just after midnight, goods from over 60 countries and the European Union were subject to a tariff rate of over 10%.
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Morning update
Global equities were mixed as investors assessed corporate earnings and US President Donald Trump appointed the Federal Reserve board's open spot. Wall Street futures were in positive territory, and TSX futures made emotion higher.
Overseas, the Pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.24% in morning trading. The UK's FTSE 100 was flat, with Germany's DAX down 0.08% and France's CAC 40 Advanced 0.23%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.85%, while Hong Kong's Hangsen skid 0.89%.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.84 US cents.
