Only 3.1% of Canadian firms adopted AI
ONTARIO, CANADA — A meager 3.1% of Canadian firms embraced artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations.
According to a 2022 report from Statistics Canada, the low adoption is not confined to AI. Advanced technologies like robotics and blockchain reported 2.1% and 0.7% adoption rates, respectively.
In contrast, 35% of businesses incorporated advanced design and information control technologies. Clean technologies saw a 33.4% adoption rate.
Statistics Canada’s data was extracted from the “Survey of Advanced Technology, 2022,” which included responses from 13,300 businesses exploring 15 unique technology sectors.
The report identified the lack of skilled staff as a significant hurdle to AI adoption, with 36.7% of businesses highlighting this as a primary obstacle.
In addition, 40.6% of firms mentioned low returns or long investment payback periods. Integrating new advanced systems with existing ones was also a problem for 34.7% of companies.
Firms that did adopt advanced technologies found recruiting skilled staff particularly challenging, presumably due to a need for higher-level expertise.
Statistics Canada’s report suggests that upskilling existing staff or increasing efforts in skilled tech recruitment may be necessary for boosting Canada’s AI adoption rates.
