CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kevin West, Andrea Hill, Priya Ratti and Gabriel Potkidis, SkyLaw
The impact will be felt most by entry-level employ - ees, particularly in professional services, and manual labourers who can be replaced by increasingly sophis - ticated robots. Against this backdrop, the consolida - tion and scaling that can occur through M&A may speed up this process as acquirors look for cost sav - ings from the implementation of AI. Governments are grappling with the repercussions of this fundamental shift in the labour market. Conclusion: AI is Everywhere “We actively take on the world as it is, not wait for the world as we wish it to be,” said Mark Carney in his speech at Davos. With any rapid technological change, there are those who will try to hold on to things as they have been or wish that things could be different. When it comes to AI, we all must acknowledge the world as it is. The deployment of AI is an unstoppable force and partici - pants in M&A must actively consider the impact on their businesses.
There is tremendous opportunity for acquirors to scale and consolidate their AI capabilities. AI will continue to revolutionise the way deals are sourced, negotiated and closed. Buyers will focus their diligence efforts on AI issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, labour talent and regulatory risks. In 1984, the blockbuster film The Terminator was released, popularising the idea that a networked sys - tem of AI could take over the world. While the likeli - hood of a Skynet using killer robots is still the stuff of fantasy, governments and hyperscalers need to exercise caution and ensure guardrails are in place to reduce this risk. Similarly, participants in M&A need to implement AI thoughtfully throughout a transaction and ensure that there is at least a thin layer of humans to exercise real world judgment in order to maximise the potential that AI presents.
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