Concordia's District 3 champions artificial intelligence for global good

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has the potential to cause harm but can it also make the world a better place? Much of the concern has to do with AI's capacity to displace vast segments of the workforce, increase unemployment and broaden the wealth divide. However, there's also a lot of excitement around the burgeoning technology's myriad possible applications for tackling issues related to education, poverty, health and climate change, to name a few. Montreal has established itself as a hub for AI research and development, but much of the work up until now has been focused on solving business challenges -- not taking on major societal or environmental problems. Xavier-Henri Hervé is executive director of the District 3 Innovation Center at Concordia.