2024 was a big year for artificial intelligence on several fronts. The use of the technology has become more widespread, and we encounter its applications on a daily basis. A Canadian researcher, Geoffrey Hinton, shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics for his contributions to machine learning and artificial neural networks. While celebrating his win, Hinton cautioned — as he has been for a few years now — against the misuse of AI, and called for responsible and transparent AI development. At The Conversation Canada, we’ve published many articles on AI and its applications in several fields, written by academics … Continue reading News and analysis from Canadian academic experts

Description of background video (continued): A butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and unfolds its wings revealing a circuitry pattern on its wingspan. The butterfly takes flight and camera starts to pan down. Digital leaders have widened their competitive distance by 60 percent in the past three years, according to senior partner Eric Lamarre and colleagues. But tortoises have a way of catching up: to stay ahead, leaders will have to accelerate their transformations. While last year was largely about generative AI (gen AI) pilots, this year has seen the technology driving revenue increases—most notably in supply chain and inventory management—and cost reductions (exhibit). According to senior … Continue reading Keeping up with gen AI – McKinsey

This report, based on extensive research, industry consultations and interviews with regulators, examines the key motivations, models, and policy considerations for wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC). It discusses the need for wCBDCs as a risk-free settlement asset to support digital transaction infrastructure and mitigate potential instability arising from reliance on tokenised private assets. Central banks are considering wCBDCs as an alternative to upgrading Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems, aiming to keep pace with programmable, always-on infrastructures that facilitate real-time, cross-currency liquidity and tokenised asset transactions. We examined: The variety of possible settlement assets from wCBDC through to Stablecoins and … Continue reading Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies: Approaches, Implementation Strategies and Use Cases