What happens to society and our legal structures when robots start thinking for themselves? These and related artificial intelligence issues are being closely scrutinized at IP Osgoode – the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Technology Program at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.
AI poses both risks and opportunities for ethics and public policy, intellectual property and commercialization, cybersecurity, international risks, and social good. These were among the topics that IP Osgoode brought to the table at a Toronto conference, Bracing for Impact: The Artificial Intelligence Challenge, which gathered together Canadian and international experts.
The Bracing for Impact conference aligned with Ottawa’s commitment to fund a “pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy for research and talent” that will cement the country’s position as a world leader in AI. The national strategy, announced in the 2017 federal budget, is designed to attract and retain top academic talent in Canada, increase the number of postgraduate trainees and researchers studying AI, and promote collaboration between Canada’s main centres of expertise.
