ottawa –
Worried about artificial intelligence coming to your job? So is the federal government, which has set aside at least $50 million to reskill workers.
One of the headline commitments in the federal budget announced Tuesday was a $2.3 billion investment aimed at accelerating the adoption of technology and artificial intelligence industries in Canada.
But next to it was a promise to invest $50 million over four years “to support workers who may be affected by AI.” Workers in “sectors and communities at risk of disruption” will receive new skills training through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.
Joel Britt, an associate professor of economics at the University of Waterloo, said, “We are on the verge of a major economic and social transformation centered on artificial intelligence.''
Some jobs will be lost and others will be created, “but there will be a transition period that may be somewhat disruptive.”
Jokes about robots coming to take our jobs predate the advent of generative AI systems in late 2022, but the widespread adoption of systems like ChatGPT has helped workers in a variety of industries use technology to take their jobs. Even as we began to integrate into time, that fear became a reality for many.
In June 2023, a briefing note to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland warned that the impact of generative AI “could impact every industry, with around 40 per cent of all working hours affected”. .
“Banking, insurance, and energy appear to have higher potential for automation than other sectors,” the memo, which cited information from Accenture and obtained through Access to Information, said.
“This can have a significant impact on job and skill requirements.”
The budget singles out 'creative industries' as the only affected sector covered by the programme. In February, Canada's television, film and music industries asked lawmakers to protect them from AI, saying it threatens their livelihoods and reputations.
Canada's Department of Finance did not respond to questions about other sectors or occupations covered by the program.
“Creative industries are used as an example and are not intended to exclude other affected regions,” Treasury deputy spokeswoman Caroline Thériault said in a statement.
Canadian Labor Congress President Bea Bruske said in an interview earlier this year that unions representing actors and directors are very concerned about how their likenesses and work are used by AI systems. Ta. But “the reality is that we have to consider the impact of AI on every job,” she says.
Britt explained that large-scale language models and other generative AI can write, come up with new ideas, test those ideas, analyze data, and generate computer programming code, music, images, and videos. did.
Those affected include those in white-collar professions such as marketing, health care, law and accounting.
In the long term, “it's actually very difficult to predict who will be affected,” he says. “What's going to happen is that entire industries, entire processes are going to be reimagined around this new technology.”
Hugh Pouliot, a spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said in an email that AI is “an issue in all sectors, but clerical and customer service jobs are certainly more vulnerable.”
The federal government is using AI in about 300 projects and initiatives, a new study released earlier this month found.
Viet Vu, economic research manager at Toronto Metropolitan University's The Dice, says the impact of AI on workers in sectors such as the creative industries won't necessarily be negative.
“That's only true if you adopt them irresponsibly,” he said, noting that creative professionals have been implementing new digital tools in their work for years.
He noted that only 4% of Canadian companies are using some form of artificial intelligence or machine learning. “So we're not there yet for these frontier models and frontier technologies to have an impact.”
When it comes to the question of how AI will impact the labor market, it is more useful to think about what kinds of tasks the technology can perform more efficiently than whether it will replace jobs entirely. Yes, Vu said.
“Work is made up of so many different tasks that even if new technologies come along and 20 or 30 percent of jobs can be done using AI, there will still be 60 or 70 percent left. “There are times when we are,” he said.
“So it's rare that an entire profession actually disappears because of technology.”
Canada's Treasury Department also did not respond to questions about what new skills workers would be learning.
Vu said there are two types of skills that retraining should focus on. One is computational thinking, or understanding how computers work and make decisions, and the other is skills in working with data.
There is no AI system in the world that does not use data, he said. “So being able to really understand how data is curated and how it's used, as well as basic data analysis skills, is really helpful.”
But given the scope of changes that AI technology will cause, critics say it will cost far more than $50 million.
Britt said the funding is a good first step, but it will be far from “enough” given the scale of upcoming changes comparable to globalization and the introduction of computers.
Valerio De Stefano, Canada Research Chair in Innovation Law and Society at York University, agreed that more resources are needed.
“Employment may decline to the point where reskilling is inadequate,” he said, adding that the government should consider “forms of unconditional income support, such as a basic income.”
The government will also require AI companies to “contribute directly to social initiatives that provide relief to people who have lost their jobs to technology,” and to “employers who are cutting salaries and increasing profits thanks to AI. Japan should consider requesting a similar response from the government.
“Otherwise, society will end up making more profits without tech companies and other companies giving back enough to benefit us all.”
