Managing AI risk – Communitech

NuEnergy.ai has been accepted into a federal procurement program that allows Canadian government departments and Crown corporations to directly purchase the company’s artificial-intelligence governance software.

“This is a big win for the entire NuEnergy team, and for all those concerned about the ethics of AI,” said CEO and co-founder Niraj Bhargava.

NuEnergy.ai – which has staff in Ottawa, Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – was accepted into the government’s Pathway to Commercialization (PTC) direct-buy program after completing the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Testing Stream and working with a number of federal departments and agencies.

Launched five years ago, NuEnergy.ai provides artificial-intelligence management software and governance consulting that help clients set up “guardrails” to mitigate risk and protect trust in the technology and the organization.

The company’s Machine Trust Platform measures essential AI parameters such as privacy, ethics, transparency and bias. It also protects against “AI drift” – the potential for an AI program to evolve away from its original directives over time.

Given its dependence on data sets, the rapidly growing use of AI has ignited a global debate about privacy, security, ethics, biases, cultural sensitivities and human rights. The goal, according to governance advocates, is to ensure that AI technologies are understandable, transparent and ethical. 

Communitech is working to create a “Good AI” coalition to help guide founders and shape discussions around the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

“NuEnergy continues to demonstrate leadership in the ethical governance of AI,” said Communitech CEO Chris Albinson. “As UNESCO calls on all governments to institute AI guardrails and generative AI goes mainstream, Canadian government departments now have a streamlined pathway to be world leaders in adopting strong governance practices through the Pathway to Commercialization program.”