By Jennifer Wibisono
Canada West, in collaboration with McGill University, hosted the Busi-Tech Symposium, an opportunity for academics, industry leaders and policymakers to learn about how AI and climate change are building a sustainable and equitable future.
The event was held in partnership with the McGill Faculty of Law’s Business Law Platform along with McGill University’s Sustainable Growth Initiative and its CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance, at UCW’s Vancouver House Campus on Tuesday, December 10.
The event’s theme was centred around “Frontiers of Business Innovation and Education: AI, Climate Change, and Building a Sustainable and Equitable Future.”
Keynote speaker Dr. Peer Zumbansen, who is the inaugural professor of Business Law at McGill University’s Faculty of Law and the Academic Lead of the CIBC Office of Sustainable Finance under McGill University’s Sustainable Growth Initiative, delivered a presentation on the “Frontiers of AI: Consequences for Businesses, for Business and Legal Education, and for Society.”
His presentation set the tone for discussions on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence across industries and sectors, including healthcare, global value chains, government intervention, science, market self-regulation and technology.
“In healthcare, AI can analyze a patient’s genetic, clinical and lifestyle data to create a personalized treatment plan. AI can also predict how a patient will respond to different medications or therapies. AI can process so much data much faster than we can,” Dr. Zumbansen said.
Dr. Zumbansen also explored how tech giants like Amazon use AI to provide shoppers with personalized recommendations by analyzing customer preferences, search history and browsing activity to suggest products.
“AI can process data in a way that no human mind can. The use of data is within the DNA and fabric of our daily lives,” he said.
The event also featured UCW faculty who presented their latest research on business innovation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and climate change.
Joining the symposium as presenters were UCW faculty Dr. Amir Albadvi, Dr. Aigerim Shilibekova, Dr. Sherry Abdellatif, Dr. BehNaz Gholami, Dr. Gifty Parker and Dr. Bruce Hiebert.
Topics of discussion included advancing socio-economic resilience through technology and policy, AI-powered lifelong learning ecosystems, the intersection of AI ethics and corporate social responsibility, transforming social problem-solving with systems and design thinking, AI-driven multi-modal people analytics platforms in human resource management and AI and ethics.
Following the symposium, a networking lunch was held, offering an opportunity for continued discussion and collaboration among attendees.
