Thank you, Madam Chair.
It's good to be back today. I will be splitting my five minutes with Dr. Lewis.
As we've heard this morning, from a policy perspective AI should always be thought of as a balancing act between innovation and governance—issues of privacy, data management and reducing algorithmic bias.
The opportunity for Canada, I believe, lies in developing trustworthy, human-centred AI applications in areas that contribute the most to Canadian GDP. We've tended, to date, to centralize funding around clusters that build out large language models. I don't see this as a realistic niche that Canada can own, given the U.S. hyperscalers. I do see a rich potential in applications that engender trust and build the social licence for AI with the public.
As we diversify our exports, we need to seize the opportunity to develop applications that balance innovation with responsibility in areas that Canada is known for, including, for example, energy, mining and advanced manufacturing, to name an obvious three. In so doing, we can enhance productivity and GDP while building applications that engender trust. This approach also ensures that we don't spread ourselves too thin or forget which industries drive our economy and our exports. It's not just the right thing to do; it's good business, and it fits the Canadian brand internationally. Just think of the global reputation of our banks as they came through the 2008 financial crisis.
It's my privilege to now turn the floor over to our Canada research chair in trustworthy AI, Dr. Peter Lewis.