Exploring the impact of AI with Ramy Nassar

Amidst the rapid advancements and trends in artificial intelligence (AI), understanding its impact appears to be crucial and insights from award-winning speaker and facilitator, Ramy Nassar, can help clarify what that means. 

Nassar, founder of 1000 Days Out, Olive Fintech Group and the AI Leadership Institute, will host a workshop at The Walper Hotel in Kitchener on March 5. The event will explore the multifaceted impact of AI on businesses, employees and communities and strategies for navigating Canada's competitive position in the global AI landscape.

“The central theme of the workshop is impact," Nassar said. “Participants will explore three dimensions of AI's impact: business, employee and community.”

Through exercises and leadership roundtables, participants will examine how AI affects product roadmaps, go-to-market strategies and investment perspectives for businesses, as well as changes in work dynamics and the impact of automation on employees. They will also discuss the community impact from a Canadian perspective.

“As a small country, population-wise, with a tremendous amount to offer the global value and ecosystem, Canada faces the challenge of competing and differentiating itself on the global stage with AI,” Nassar said. “It's essential to consider our position and bring that down to the day-to-day decisions made by tech company CEOs, leaders and investors.”

Nassar believes that CEOs, CTOs and co-founders who attend the workshop will walk away with an understanding of the national community perspective and its context. 

“The workshop will provide context for the decisions they make in running and leading their business and innovating in our community,” he said. “They will see how their work has a bigger impact than just their company, customers and employees — a contribution towards the greater good and learn the importance of using AI for good and standing up against irresponsible, illegal and anti-competitive use of the technology.”

Nassar also emphasized the significance of Communitech’s GoodAI program, highlighting its role in establishing global leadership in technology and AI. The Good AI program is designed to help founders understand the importance of incorporating ethical AI principles into products.

“While we all inherently understand what's good and what's not, it's imperative for business leaders to advocate for ethical practices that benefit customers, employees and end-users,” he added. “As a community of technologists and leaders, it's our responsibility to uphold ethical standards in AI usage.”

The Good AI program is designed to help founders understand the importance of incorporating ethical AI principles into products.

Following the workshop, Nassar will deliver the keynote address at a dinner for tech leaders from across Waterloo Region. 

“The keynote speech will challenge attendees to think beyond the current state of AI technology and consider its future implications for their businesses over the next several years,” he added. “It aims to broaden perspectives, explore risks and opportunities and provide tools for understanding the transformative potential of technologies like generative AI and large language models.”

Nassar urges founders to think about the impact of their businesses and also put it in context.

“Imagine this: 280 million people in China tuned in to watch the game of Go between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo (a five-game Go match between Sedol and a computer Go program),” he said. “That's more than a quarter of a billion viewers — more than the Super Bowl. They watched because they understand the transformative power of AI. It's a reminder of the immense impact and potential of this technology.”

We have now opened this event to non-members. Join us to learn more about our community and get a taste of what it’s like to be a part of Communitech. Register here.