Disruptors RBC Thought Leadership, John Stackhouse

This is our 7th season of Disruptors and we’re kicking it off with a bang!

There is a tech wave surging and it was truly the summer of AI. People are both excited and worried about what it’ll mean for their communities, jobs, the economy, and the planet. And while these tech advances have immense potential, we need to think deeply about how they’ll be applied.

When it comes to AI research, we are a podium nation but when it comes to application, how can Canada step up to the plate? To help us make sense of it all, we are joined by two pioneers in Canada’s AI sector; Nick Frosst, Cofounder of Cohere and Jordan Jacobs, Cofounder and Managing Partner, of Radical Ventures.

What an epic, even historic, summer it was.

Heatwaves, wildfires, storms – it was like Mother Nature and Planet Earth were reminding us that no matter where we are, or what we do, the climate is profoundly changing. Now, as climate presents equal parts challenges and opportunities, we’ll need to accelerate climate action.

Meanwhile, the explosion of ChatGPT signaled that AI is really starting to take hold. Now, from regulation to adoption, the race for AI dominance is on.

At such a critical juncture, it’s important to ask where Canada fits in this age of disruption?

And can we lead, particularly in areas where we already do – AI, clean energy and food production.

For Season 7 of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, we’ll speak with incredible innovators and disruptors who are chasing answers to these questions and challenges. So be sure to subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts.

It’s no secret that Canada’s labour market is facing significant challenges, but heading into another school year, there’s hope that a series of regulatory changes enacted by the Federal Government could help get more international students into the workforce.

That’s why we’re highlighting an episode from the past season of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, featuring a conversation between host John Stackhouse and tech entrepreneur Martin Basiri. Basiri is the co-founder and CEO of Kitchener, Ontario’s ApplyBoard, an AI-enabled software platform that lets students from around the world quickly identify and apply for post-secondary programs in North America, the U.K. and Australia.

Basiri came to Canada as a student himself and has valuable insights to share about the challenges and opportunities facing our country and those who want to study here. You’ll also hear about the Business Higher Education Roundtable, a group of leaders in both business and education who are trying to create better connections between employers and educators right across the country.

Summer bounties are hitting our dinner, picnic and BBQ tables, and farmers are busy gearing up for another fall harvest season. But have you ever considered how much of the food we produce in Canada never even makes it to your plate? Or how much goes into the green bin?

This year on Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, we tackled the challenge of food waste in a special series called “The Growing Challenge: How Canada Can Lead the Next Green Revolution in Agriculture.” We’re showing good progress on limiting food spoilage and waste, but we can – and need to do – more.

Listen in as host John Stackhouse hears from a variety of experts including Meeru Dhalwala, author, chef, and the co-owner of Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants in Vancouver; Randy Huffman, the Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer at Maple Leaf Foods; Kevin Groh, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Loblaw Companies Limited; and Jeremy Lang, the founder and Vice-President of Sustainability at Pela Earth, the creator of a smart composting system called Lomi.

As another wildfire season blankets Canada and the U.S. with smoke, air quality is worsening, and the summers are only getting hotter. Some of Canada’s most populous cities even topped the rankings when it comes to the worst air quality on the planet.

That’s why we’re highlighting an important episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, focused on spending on climate action. August 16th marks exactly one year since President Joe Biden signed into law the almost $370-billion Inflation Reduction Act — America’’s largest ever investment in green technology. But how and where can that money be spent for maximum impact? And what should Canada do now that its own coffers have been topped up thanks to the 2023 Federal Budget?

Listen in as host John Stackhouse chats with two leaders who are collectively responsible for investing billions of dollars in green tech; Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, and Eli Aheto, a Managing Director at BeyondNetZero, a new climate venture from General Atlantic. It’s a fascinating conversation that’s only becoming more relevant with record heat temperatures being set by the day.

Few things have been more disruptive and hotly debated this year than AI as 2023 marked the potential tipping point in its mass adoption thanks to the public release of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. From healthcare, to cybersecurity, to journalism and, now, Hollywood, AI is sending shockwaves through virtually every sector of our economy.

So, it’s a perfect time to highlight an episode of Disruptors, an RBC Podcast, where host John Stackhouse talks with one of Canada’s preeminent AI voices, Professor Ajay Agrawal. Ajay is a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and co-author of “Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence”.

To demonstrate how quickly AI will evolve, many of the predictions on this episode have already come to pass. But some of the most compelling questions about the future of artificial intelligence and its impact on our world have yet to be answered.