Polygon Created with Sketch. Home | Engage
Insights

Focus on artificial intelligence and technological disruption

Global reliance on technology has increased as our daily activities moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of the technologies being adopted.

As Canada now begins to move into an economic recovery, both the risks and opportunities that AI poses to the future of work deserve a closer look.

20%

of Canadian jobs are at high risk due to automation and technology, including AI, but these numbers are projected to decline over time.

47%

of Canadians expect AI to have a very positive impact in the next 5 years

+270%

increase in the number of businesses implementing AI processes between 2015 and 2019 worldwide

Learning Bulletin

Ensuring that technology-driven change benefits workers as well as employers will require new approaches and new thinking. Our September 2021 Learning Bulletin takes a deeper look at the different implications of AI for the future of work and explores a set of FSC projects that address both the risks and opportunities presented by AI.

Download the AI learning bulletin

Artificial intelligence is seen as bringing both positive and negative implications to our work environment.

Perhaps the most common fear is that AI will replace humans in performing cognitive tasks and displace people from their jobs. Automation is indeed a significant risk for Canadian workers; about 40 per cent of people are working in jobs at medium risk of automation, while 20 per cent are in jobs at high risk. At the same time, AI presents a number of opportunities to drive new economic efficiencies within and across sectors, complement human intelligence, and even create new jobs.

AI’s potential should not be confused with its impact; the former can be directed, and the latter is far from inevitable. What is sure is that AI is now – and will continue – to disrupt the world of work. With this prediction comes a realization that there will likely be a need for more hybrid skill sets that combine AI skills with other types of abilities. AI platforms can also become a tool for continuous learning by revealing correlations between production needs and worker training opportunities. Ensuring that technology-driven change benefits workers as well as employers will require new approaches and new thinking.

The Future Skills Centre is partnering with industries, governments, universities and workers across Canada to test new ways to address and harness AI in skills delivery. These partnerships explore the specific requirements and opportunities for AI in sectors as diverse as health care, insurance and transportation.

See how we’re exploring new applications for AI in skills development

Surgeons operating wearing VR headsets
Project

Accelerating the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare

  • June 2020
  • The Michener Institute of Education at UHN, Vector Institute
Shifting the mindset and educating healthcare professionals in the effective, appropriate, safe, and compassionate use of AI.
Woman standing at a counter and working on their laptop
Project

Facing the challenge of digital transformation in the insurance sector: women at work

  • June 2020
  • Laval University
Action research project on the future of female workers facing the automation of tasks in their job duties in the insurance sector.
1 Related Reports
Group shot of students.
Project

Reskilling displaced retail workers

  • April 2021
  • Venture for Canada
This project supports the design of a reskilling of displaced retail workers in Ontario, with a focus on racialized and Indigenous youth.
1 Related Reports
Student and Professor sit in an engineering classroom.
Project

Smart systems and digital technologies for a new era

  • April 2021
  • W Booth School of Engineering Practice & Technology, Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University
A network of resources will be created from industry, municipalities, and McMaster University to facilitate accelerated adoption of ground-breaking digital technologies.
1 Related Reports
IVADO Training Program with its academic collaborators
Project

From data to decision: AI training and professional certification

  • June 2020
  • University of Montreal, IVADO: The Institute for Data Valorization
Short-term AI-focused training intended primarily for mid-career professionals wanting to integrate new AI knowledge into their organizations.
1 Related Reports
Large group of individuals raising their hands in participation.
Project

Connecting youth to jobs with AI

  • April 2021
  • CivicAction
Hiring practices will become more inclusive through an AI-enabled job posting tool.
Worker talking to a truck driver.
Project

Building the Skills of the Trucking Industry

  • August 2019
  • Trucking Human Resource Sector Council Atlantic, PEI Trucking Sector Council, Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada, Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, Immigrant Settlement Agency of NS, Native Council of Nova Scotia, St. Francis Xavier University’s Centre for Employment Innovation
The project will leverage virtual reality technology to deliver training in a way that complements varied learning styles. The virtual reality simulator is the first of its kind specifically designed for the trucking industry with AI technology and the ability to track the user’s eyes and enhance their driving skills in the unlimited replays.
1 Related Reports

See what we’re learning on Artificial Intelligence

Photo of an Individual using a laptop on an airplane
Research

Understanding Future Skills: Emergence of an Ecosystem for the Digital Economy

  • August 2019
The focus of this report is on the emergence of the digital economy ecosystem in Quebec, with a specific focus on the Montreal artificial intelligence cluster.
Woman looking at computer and coding.
Research

A Foundation For the Next Normal: Outlook of Technology Adoption & its Impact in the Canadian Workplace

  • December 2020
  • Diversity Institute, International Data Corporation
This document reflects results on a prospective future before a seismic shift occurred. The research we present here is no longer a good indication of what is to come, but a good indication of how things were.
1 Related Reports
Person standing looking at her phone
Research

Technology-Enabled Innovations in the Skills and Employment Ecosystem

  • November 2020
  • Diversity Institute, Public Policy Forum
This paper outlines places where technology can or is providing innovative approaches to skills training. This includes the assessment of skills, development of skills, and the alignment of supply and demand — including advancing bias-free recruitment. With real-world examples from around the world, it also reviews how technology can improve access, diversity and workplace inclusivity amongst equity-seeking groups.
1 Related Reports
Concept of digital diagram,graph interfaces,virtual screen,connections icon on blurred background.Coworking team meeting.
Research

The Next Wave: Automation and Canada’s Labour Market

  • December 2020
  • Diversity Institute, C.D. Howe Institute
This Commentary assesses the likely impact of technological automation on Canada’s labour market and compares these results to past predictions. In fact, they show a lower proportion of employment at high risk of automation (about 22 percent) than most previous estimates.
1 Related Reports
An individual wearing an augmented reality headset to visualize two office towers
Research

Thinking Twice About Technology and the Future of Work

  • January 2020
  • Public Policy Forum, Diversity Institute
Technology is being used to change power balances in workplaces and to perpetuate long-standing precarious employment relationships, Jim Stanford argues. But the exploitative practices of the gig economy reflect deliberate choices, rather than the inevitable onward march of technology, and creating better jobs also lies within our power.
1 Related Reports
A group of people brainstorming and huddled over a laptop screen.
Research

Technological Change and the Future of Work in Canada

  • August 2019
  • The Conference Board of Canada
This project will assess the impact that large-scale technological and demographic trends will have on the demand and supply of labour in Canada and identify potential solutions to mitigate the effects of labour shortages on the Canadian economy.