Overview
Discover the practical applications of artificial intelligence in today’s society with Tom Jenkins, an engineering physics and management graduate.
Reception, L.R. Wilson Hall Lobby – 4:30 – 5:15 p.m.
Talk, L.R. Wilson Concert Hall – 5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
A Q&A session will follow the talk
Talk Abstract
Artificial Intelligence will have a profound impact on society. It will impact the way we design in engineering. It will impact the way we deliver products and services to everyone, everywhere. The challenge will be to understand and adopt these new AI tools in the most effective way possible.
Tom Jenkins has been involved in the creation and deployment of society changing technologies for 40 years. Thoughtfully applying these technologies for useful purposes is half the battle. Managing the change and disruption involved, at an ever-quickening pace, is the hard part.
Canada has been involved in technology change since our country’s inception. Jenkins, along with former Governor General David Johnston, chronicled this in the book Ingenious! How Canadian Innovators Made the World Smarter, Smaller, Kinder, Safer, Healthier, Wealthier and Happier. Managing the impact of that change is covered in another book called The Anticipant Organization: New rules for leading in digital society from the boardroom to the battlefield by Mark J. Barrenechea, CEO of Open Text, Major General (ret’d) David Fraser and Tom Jenkins.
Jenkins will be reviewing the very latest evolutionary steps; from public AI tools such as ChatGPT to the development of data lakes and information management systems “behind the firewall” that will allow industry to create new ways of engineering and delivering products and services.
About our Speaker
Jenkins is Chair of the Board of OpenText. From 1994 to 2005, Jenkins was President, then Chief Executive Officer and then from 2005 to 2013, Chief Strategy Officer of OpenText. Jenkins has served as a Director of OpenText since 1994 and as its Chairman since 1998. In addition to his OpenText responsibilities, Jenkins is Chair of the World Wide Web Foundation, a Commissioner of the Tri-Lateral Commission. Jenkins has also served as a board member of Manulife Financial Corporation, Thomson Reuters Inc. and TransAlta Corporation. He was also past Chair of the Ontario Global 100 (OG100) and past Canadian Co-Chair of the Atlantik Bruecke. He was the tenth Chancellor of the University of Waterloo and was the Chair of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Mr. Jenkins received an M.B.A. from Schulich School of Business at York University, an M.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto and a B.Eng. & Mgt. from McMaster University. Jenkins received honorary doctorates from six universities. He is a member of the Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, a Companion of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and recipient of the Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year award, the McMaster Engineering L.W. Shemilt Distinguished Alumni Award and the Schulich School of Business Outstanding Executive Leadership award. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE). Jenkins was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD), the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (QJDM) and the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Jenkins is an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC).