Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence

Peter Suma, Chairman and Co-CEO of Applied Brain Research Inc. Peter is Chairman and Co-CEO of Applied Brain Research Inc. Prior to ABR, Peter led start-ups in robotics and financial services as well as managed two seed venture capital funds. Peter holds a MASc in Systems Design Engineering and Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience from the University of Waterloo, a BSc Hons from the University of Toronto, a MBA from the University of Chicago; a PostMBA Diploma in Advanced Management majoring in Financial Engineering from the Schulich School of Business; an ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and a LLM in Securities Law from Osgoode Hall. Peter and his wife, Cheryl, have two children, Melissa ’20 and Michael.

CONTRIBUTORS: SIMON HANNA '22, TARA IRANI, PETER SUMA, HANNAH VIBIEN '22, CHARLIE WEBSTER '21, NIKI ZADAFSHAR '21

AI. Artificial intelligence. For some, this term conjures up images of robots and a dystopian future. However, for others, it speaks to innovation, hope and discovery. On November 24, 2020, students Hannah Vibien, Charlie Webster, Simon Hanna and Niki Zadafshar, along with Ms Irani and Ms Herbst, gathered to have a conversation with Mr. Peter Suma, the Chairman and Co-CEO of Applied Brain Research and also an HTS alumni parent.

We collaboratively crafted questions to ask Mr. Suma to explore what intrigued us most about AI and its implications for the future. What follows are excerpts from that interview. As you read this, consider the following: If you had this opportunity, what questions would you want to ask?

Mr. Suma: Let me answer by describing an example of what you can do with AI. AI is often used to make devices "smart." For example, our company uses AI to make drones smarter. Think about the need to inspect electricity-generating wind turbines for small cracks in the blades before the blades burst open. Blades are normally inspected by people scaling the wind turbines on ropes. It is expensive, slow and dangerous work. What if you could make a drone so smart that you could put one in the centre of a field of turbines and it would fly around on its own and inspect all the turbines daily using an onboard AI and its camera to recognize cracks in the wind turbine blades? Then, technicians would know precisely where the problems are and repair the affected blades with a small amount of sealant before the defective blades fail catastrophically. Inspection costs are significantly reduced and downtime is avoided. All this relies on the drone’s control software being able to be smart enough to fly the drone around the wind turbines and recognize cracks. So AI can be used to make devices smarter.

However, this is only the beginning. To change the world, we’ll need the ability to recognize patterns and extend them with full perception, understanding and prediction capabilities – like brains have. Robots, drones, programs and cars could do tasks that only humans can do today, and possibly even more than we can do – not just one specific task, however useful, as they are limited to today.

Mr. Suma: Today’s computers are fast at processing one thing at a time. Your brain does not work that way. It has 100 billion neurons, and each of them is processing information at the same time. Companies like Intel are working on a new kind of processor called a neuromorphic processor. Neuromorphic processors have millions of tiny active processors that operate a bit like how the neurons in your brain do. These artificial neurons work in parallel, communicating and collaborating with the other neurons. It turns out that doing it this way – the kind of way that your brain solves problems – is less expensive and more efficient power-wise than the way current computers work.

Mr. Suma: Our company does not work on clinical AI directly. We do have some experience trying to help researchers understand neural diseases though. As an example, an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) researcher discussed with my partner, Dr. Chris Eliasmith, how neuromorphic engineering methods could be used to simulate the processes of neural disease in ALS. They talked about creating a model of what is going on in the diseased neurons that cause the paralysis that is ALS. The idea was that they could use both their neuroscientific knowledge and neuromorphic engineering methods to build a functional simulation of what is going on in neural circuits in ALS to explain the disease’s symptoms. If we could create this simulation, it might further help explain our understanding of the disease process. Some systems are so complex that it can be easier to build a model of it to advance the understanding rather than trying to analyze the actual system itself.

An area of medical AI that we do work in is health monitoring AI. Think about a patient wearing a piece of clothing that monitors the electrical signals from their skin. Someone who is shovelling snow might get an alert on their smartphone indicating that their heart has just exhibited arrhythmic patterns before it progresses to a heart attack.

Some of the largest impacts AI is having on medicine are in the areas of drug discovery and development. AI is being used to search through the possible configurations of molecules to create a drug that can block viruses or enable a reaction that is needed to treat a disease.

Mr. Suma: AI begins with mathematics. Then there is neuroscience that brings together physics, chemistry and biology. Engineering and computer programming are important as well. Neuromorphic AI, in particular, is actually at the intersection of all of these fields. So, if you are excited by the connections between things, by solving puzzles, by working on a problem that no one has ever solved, and by discovering things that are yet undiscovered, then this is one of the fields for you.

Mr. Suma: Will AI have a positive effect on society? Yes. Will AI have a detrimental effect on society? Yes. Those effects are both already happening.

Human labour displacement is a concern. In many ways the technology is getting better and is beginning to rival what humans can do, with much more labour replacement coming when inexpensive, adaptive and smart robots arrive. We are not there yet, though. It also requires enormous amounts of human labour to create the technology, adapt it for new uses, maintain it, and improve it. So far, in many cases, it is almost as much work (or more) to create AI than the work that it replaces. This process requires humans to be thinking and creating, while technology does the more repetitive tasks. The impacts of this will not be as dramatic or rapid as in sci-fi movies. However, the shift is already well underway, and so far, the rate of this change is slow enough that society has been able to adapt to it. But it will put pressure on governments and economic systems in the future.

There are some big questions connected to AI's expected advancements and their effects on society. The history of technology shows that it represents solutions, opportunities and threats – all at the same time. So, if people depend on a world that does not change, then what lies ahead will be difficult for them.

Let us try to use AI for the right things, using the inexpensive abundance of labour it can create to raise the general standards of living, safety and human well-being. These are the questions your generation will hopefully solve.

Think about these tensions as being reasons to enter the field. They point to powerful forces at work and changes of historic proportions happening in your lifetime. If AI and its risks and possibilities create a sense of wonder, tension, fascination or curiosity in you, I would encourage you to explore this field more – whether it is in AI itself, neuroscience, businesses that leverage AI technology or

perhaps the governance of AI. It is an exciting field with tremendous opportunities and lots of room for each of your contributions. The unlimited possibilities push you never to stop learning.

What you have just read is a sampling of the conversation we had together. Our discussion with Mr. Suma sparked further questions, and by the end, our minds were swirling with ideas and thoughts that we had never before considered. Here's our attempt to synthesize the impact this interview had on our thinking: Charlie: I'm definitely intrigued by the future of what AI could bring to the world. As Mr. Suma said, AI has already pushed advancements. But what he was talking about is the future and how it can help society and civilization. I am intrigued to be part of what will happen next.

Niki: For me, the most intriguing thing was when you first think of AI, you just think of robots. But Mr. Suma talked about so much more. AI helps us find answers to questions that seem unsolvable. There are millions of questions that you could ask that no one has the answers to, and AI has the capability for us to connect to possibilities that do not even exist yet.

Hannah: What I found most interesting are the ideas of AI and efficiency. As Mr. Suma said, computers require a lot of energy to basically do one thing at a time, but our brains, with very little energy, can run multiple and parallel things. It's amazing how capable our brains are, and the goal of AI is to replicate that on one small chip. It's incredible.

Simon: I noticed how interested and excited Mr. Suma was as he talked to us. It really reflects that he enjoys what he does, and this is important when choosing what you will do in your work life. Secondly, he was able to make connections between our questions; he talked about not just the technology but also how it can solve a real problem that someone is facing right now.

So, what questions would you have wanted to ask if you had joined us that afternoon? AI is a field for those who are curious, for people who want to solve problems. In AI, there is little room for certainty. How do brains work? How do we get true intelligence out of machines? This field offers more than just career potential. As technology is already all around us, how can we embrace its use for the good of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what the future can hold for all of us?

HTS Parent

Dr. Parm Singh is a family physician and board director at a Family Health Team. She has a passion for teaching and is a lecturer and mentor to medical students at the University of Toronto. She has presented at leadership conferences at the provincial and national levels. She has contributed to several projects with the Ontario

Renal Network and has worked collaboratively on projects with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the British Pharmacological Society. She co-facilitates a book club for physicians and loves to travel with her family.

How has the global pandemic accelerated transformation in your industry?

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the medical world in unimaginable ways. We’ve pivoted to providing a significant portion of health care via telephone, through secure messaging or by using telemedicine platforms. Health care providers are keeping patients and themselves safe using personal protective equipment (PPE). Some clinics notify patients of their appointment via text, and patients check-in using a digital tablet.

Medical apps have also joined the fight against the pandemic. The COVID Alert app uses Bluetooth technology to alert individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19. New medications have been studied at an accelerated rate, and the global scientific community has collaborated to find potential treatments, rapid diagnostic tools and less invasive ways of detecting the virus. The research community has worked tirelessly to develop and deliver effective and safe vaccines that will help us gain control of the pandemic. This past year has transformed the world of medicine; however, at the forefront, one thing remains constant – our dedication to providing compassionate care that supports the unique needs of each of our patients.