It’s time to unleash the power of artificial intelligence

Computers are becoming more powerful, faster, and intelligent every day. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Hal, the computer that took over an entire spaceship in the sci-fi movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although fiction in 1968, Siri, Cortona, and Alexa and many nifty new smart gadgets are now reality and respond to thousands of voice commands. They make our life easier by taking over mundane tasks and managing our schedules. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the science of building and programing a machine that’s able to imitate human cognition, is everywhere—from algorithms that filter news on your Facebook feed to reading weather patterns. Advanced AI is being used to tackle personal obstacles and global challenges, like climate change, aging populations, hunger, health care, industrial design, world economic crises and bank fraud. While everyone recalls the success of IBM’s Watson on Jeopardy!, less is known about AI’s far-reaching implications for health care. There is nothing more critical to humans than our health, improving survival rates and predicting and preventing diseases. AI will have a profound impact on precision in medicine, genomics, biomedical engineering, patient care and rehabilitation. Advanced computer applications will have the ability to take large swaths of data and improve the quality of life for people around the world. Through AI, we can predict the type of drugs needed to treat cancer patients, analyze X-rays and better assist caregivers in predicting disease outcomes for patients based on information about symptoms, pattern and lifestyle. Canada has been at the forefront of AI and machine learning (ML), “training” computers to perform tasks based on examples, for decades and is globally recognized for its top talent and cutting-edge startup companies and institutions. Many of the world’s largest tech companies—IBM, Amazon, Microsoft and Google—are getting into the action by partnering with Canadian AI and ML companies and universities. Quebec, Ontario and Alberta are considered hotbeds in AI and ML research and innovation. The four companies leading the federal government’s $125-million Pan-Canadian AI strategy, include the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and Vector Institute. Other institutes making waves include Microsoft Research Montreal’s AI lab, Creative Destruction Lab, Element AI and Borealis AI, to name a few. While Canada has made bold investments, our startups receive only a fraction of investment dollars in comparison to other startups around the world. More needs to be done as we don’t want to lose ground to countries, like France, China, United States, and Britain, who are betting heavily on AI’s technological potential. Canada should be shining more of a spotlight on this country’s success and ground-breaking research. Thanks to our human brainpower and this transformative technology, the dream of having a proactive health care system with patient-specific customization will become a reality. The recently announced Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, based in Vancouver, will lead to the implementation of Canada’s AI and ML discoveries. While there is much hope and optimism in this fast-moving field, we must proceed in a transparent and principled manner with firm ethical guidelines set in place. Research Canada is a national alliance dedicated to increasing investments in health research through collaborative advocacy and engaging governments, academia, industry and non-profit sectors to build support for long-term health research funding. On May 1, Research Canada and members of the Parliamentary Health Research Caucus are hosting a Parliament Hill reception entitled Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Reshaping Health Research and Innovation. This invite-only gathering will offer parliamentarians the chance to learn about this life-altering technology and to meet with more than a dozen leading Canadian experts, scientists and innovators, many of whom are employing AI techniques to improve survival outcomes among patients. Topics include Improving Health and Patient Care, Solving Genetic and Genomic Mysteries through Precision Medicine, the Rehabilitative Potential of AI and Machine Learning and AI and ML in Mental Health. The caucus is led by Liberal MP John Oliver along with vice-chairs, Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu and NDP MP Carol Hughes, and Senator Judith Seidman. Since 2009, Parliamentary Health Research Caucus events on Parliament Hill have helped to educate politicians on the social and economic benefits of Canadian health research and innovation, as well as introduce them to the multi-sector partnerships among academic, private sector and health charity stakeholders essential to a robust health research enterprise and innovation system. For more information, visit rc-rc.ca. Deborah Gordon El-Bihbety is president and CEO of Research Canada and Dr. Robert McMaster is chair of Research Canada. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Reshaping Health Research and Innovation takes place May 1, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Speaker’s Lounge, Centre Block. The Hill Times