What Do You Think? ISED Consultation On Canada’s AI Strategy

On June 26, 2024, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) launched a public consultation on Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure. The feedback from this consultation will shape the design and implementation of the AI Compute Access Fund (the Access Fund) and the Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy (the Sovereign Strategy), which are initiatives launched by Budget 2024.

The Access Fund will provide direct support to Canadian AI researchers and developers to access the computing capacity they need in the short term. The Sovereign Strategy will guide Canada’s development of AI compute infrastructure over the long term. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on how the Access Fund and Sovereign Strategy should be designed and implemented in order to achieve Canada’s goal of building domestic compute capacity and growing its AI advantage. ISED seeks input from key stakeholders including, but not limited to, the following:

• AI Developers
• Universities and Researchers
• AI Hubs, Incubators, and Accelerators
• Cloud/Data Center Operators
• Indigenous Groups

As part of its consultation, ISED outlines the following guiding principles for developing the Access Fund and Sovereign Strategy:

1. Identify near-term investment opportunities, which acknowledge the immediate needs for increased compute access in Canada.
2. Establish a foundation of world-class domestic sovereign AI compute infrastructure that supports longer-term research and innovation, commercialization, prosperity and economic growth.
3. Develop a multi-faceted approach that yields results across the Canadian ecosystem, supporting companies, researchers and institutions.
4. Employ collaborative approaches that encourage international cooperation.
5. Leverage the contributions of the private sector and different levels of government.

ISED is also considering different models for growing Canada’s compute capacity, such as Supply Side Approaches (e.g., investing directly in new infrastructure or indirectly by incentivizing investment in the space) and Demand Side Approaches (e.g., leveraging market-based solutions). ISED seeks feedback on the viability and merits of these approaches and potential hybrid models that may incorporate the following elements: (i) partnering with industry leaders who have the expertise in building and operating physical compute infrastructure; (ii) providing funding to AI stakeholders (e.g., Canada’s promising AI development companies) to help grow the demand for Canadian-based compute capacity; and (iii) supporting compute infrastructure providers to expand their capacity and deliver increased compute availability to the Canadian market.

ISED’s consultation remains open until September 6, 2024, and more information can be found here.

Summary By: Amy Ariganello