ɬ�﷬ Desautels Faculty of Management - AI News

Navigating the future of work in the age of AI

ɬ�﷬ — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:17:56 +0000

Simon Blanchette, faculty lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels, explores how AI is transforming work, education and business.

The conversation examines its impact on jobs and skills, how organizations can adopt AI responsibly, and why critical thinking, continuous learning and a human-centred approach remain essential.

Watch the podcast

Rim Hariss awarded NSERC Discovery Grant for retail operations research

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 18:54:55 +0000

Professor Rim Hariss is one of 122 ɬ�﷬ researchers awarded funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's (NSERC) Discovery Grants competition, announced July 7 as part of a $30-million investment in ɬ�﷬ research.

Harris's project, "Beyond the Stockout: A Behavioral-Analytical Framework for Optimizing Retail Operations," examines how consumers respond to product unavailability, using AI-enabled in-store tracking data to model search and substitution behavior.

Canada’s AI strategy targets growth but raises concerns on accountability and equity

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:48:44 +0000

Canada’s “AI for All” strategy, unveiled June 4, pairs over $2 billion in spending with ambitious targets for economic growth and job creation by 2031. Built on pillars like infrastructure, skills and responsible AI, it aims to boost adoption and close Canada’s gap with G7 peers.

But as faculty lecturer Simon Blanchette writes in The Conversation, the plan emphasizes growth more than accountability. Key gaps remain around job displacement, worker protections and oversight of workplace AI, with entry-level roles and equity-seeking groups particularly vulnerable.

The Anthropic shock: Why Canada must rethink AI control

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:42:29 +0000

Who controls access to the artificial intelligence systems shaping our economies and institutions?

As Simon Blanchette, a faculty lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels, underscores, the U.S.-ordered suspension of Anthropic’s advanced models—cutting off global users overnight—shows how quickly a routine commercial relationship can turn into a strategic vulnerability.

Organizations in Canada and elsewhere lost critical tools without warning or recourse, revealing the risks of relying on foreign-owned AI governed by external laws and priorities.

Human leadership remains essential as AI agents reshape work

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:41:21 +0000

As companies experiment with agentic AI, some are using technology not just to support employees, but to stand in for managers. While AI agents may streamline workflows, organizations risk weakening the human connections that build loyalty and trust, according to Simon Blanchette, a faculty lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels Faculty of Management.

Why HR needs to reframe AI as a tool, not a threat

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:37:22 +0000

As AI adoption accelerates across Canadian workplaces, employee anxiety is becoming a growing concern, with many workers worried automation could reshape or replace their roles. According to Jean-Nicolas Reyt, associate professor of organizational behaviour at ɬ�﷬’s Desautels Faculty of Management, HR leaders need to acknowledge those fears rather than dismiss them.

Why AI time savings aren’t translating into productivity gains

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:35:54 +0000

As the Bank of Canada highlights AI’s promise to boost productivity, Simon Blanchette, a faculty lecturer at ɬ�﷬’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says Canada risks overestimating the impact of time savings alone.

Even as workplace efficiencies improve, he argues the real challenge lies in turning those gains into higher-value outcomes. “Today is the day that AI will be the least powerful in our lifetime,” he says, warning that organizations need to move faster.

China’s AI labour ruling invites reflection on Canada’s approach

ɬ�﷬ — Wed, 13 May 2026 14:03:40 +0000

As a Chinese court moves to curb AI‑driven demotions and dismissals, Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at ɬ�﷬’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says the ruling highlights how unprepared Canada is for AI‑led labour disruption.

He argues that implementing similar protections would be difficult in Canada’s decentralized labour system, where provinces, industries and unions would all need to align. Rather than trying to slow adoption, Blanchette says the focus should be on readiness.

AI is changing how investment firms allocate work

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:03:47 +0000

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in investment management, Russ Goyenko, an associate professor of finance at ɬ�﷬’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says the technology is likely to reshape how firms allocate work.

AI is increasingly being used to support research, idea generation and portfolio analysis across the industry. Goyenko suggests one likely consequence will be less demand for analysts, as AI takes over time-intensive tasks such as reviewing reports and earnings calls.

AI agents can automate tasks, but come with privacy and security risks

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:02:35 +0000

Most of us interact with large language models like ChatGPT and Claude through browsers or apps, but AI agents can apply the power of LLMs in entirely different ways. Agents can independently plan and execute multi-step tasks across multiple software systems, but they should be approached with caution, says Matissa Hollister, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at ɬ�﷬ Desautels.

Having humans in the loop helps ensure AI produces high quality work

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:41:22 +0000

A majority of young people fear that AI will displace them in the workplace, and entry-level jobs in AI-affected sectors are already in decline.

While there are a lot of things AI can do, there still needs to be a human in the loop, Simon Blanchette told Radio-Canada.

“Humans need to be there at the beginning and the end of a process to verify a machine’s work,” says Blanchette (BCom’14), Faculty Lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels. “It’s not a brake on productivity, but a guarantee of quality.”

ɬ�﷬ researchers win prestigious NFRF 2024 grant to transform public engagement with AI

ɬ�﷬ — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:04:50 +0000

ɬ�﷬ researchers have received a prestigious 2024 New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Exploration Grant for an interdisciplinary project that examines how artificial intelligence can reshape public participation in decision-making. Co-led by Dr. Jiangbo Yu (Civil Engineering) and Dr.

Hands-on vibe coding workshop by AAAI

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:51:42 +0000

AAAI recently hosted a hands-on workshop on vibe coding led by MMA’24 alum Lakshya Agarwal, introducing students to AI-powered tools that turn ideas into working applications without requiring a traditional programming background. Through real-time demonstrations, Agarwal showed how AI-assisted editors and web app builders can rapidly move from concept to deployment, including building a live portfolio website on the spot.

Generative AI adoption has knock-on effects within an organization

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:01:34 +0000

Generative AI has begun replacing tasks at work, especially the dull, repetitive and simple ones. But when a task—or an entire job—is replaced by AI, the change doesn’t stop there. The jobs of the people using AI-produced information change too. “The implications are much wider ranging and touch many more jobs than the initial job,” says Matissa Hollister, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour.

AI red lines: who sets the limits in national security?

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:49:23 +0000

In a recent piece in The Conversation, Professor Emmanuelle Vaast examines the growing tensions between the use of artificial intelligence in warfare and surveillance. The discourse is prompted by a decision from AI company Anthropic, whose CEO refused to grant the U.S. military unrestricted access to its AI systems. The company established two "red lines": prohibiting the use of its technology for mass surveillance of citizens and preventing the deployment of fully autonomous weapons without having human oversight.

Pension funds enter a new governance era amid geopolitical and ai disruption

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:50:21 +0000

As global trade wars, geopolitical tensions and AI advances reshape financial markets, pension funds face mounting pressure to adapt. Sebastien Betermier, Associate Professor of Finance at ɬ�﷬ Desautels, argues that 2026 demands three priorities from pension leaders: building more agile portfolios capable of withstanding regime shifts, forging proactive partnerships with governments on infrastructure investment, and rethinking their exposure to private markets as retail investors flood in.

Employers want MBA grads to be AI-literate

ɬ�﷬ — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 14:03:29 +0000

The world of business is changing, and MBA programs are changing with it. Employers now expect new hires to arrive with strong AI skills, and since January 2025, AI has been part of the curriculum at ɬ�﷬ Desautels. “It’s unavoidable,” Associate Professor of Information Systems Geneviève Bassellier told Les Affaires.

AI replaces tasks, not entire jobs

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:01:40 +0000

AI is changing the workplace, but it usually doesn’t replace entire jobs. Before laying people off because of ‘AI efficiencies’, employers need a solid plan. “We may or may not overestimate how much AI will affect the world of work, but we’ve figured out that it does not destroys jobs, it destroys tasks,” says Lisa Cohen, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at ɬ�﷬ Desautels.

Generative AI changes which job types are vulnerable to automation

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:59:57 +0000

Artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the labour market, but its impact won’t be felt evenly across all types of jobs. In Quebec, roughly 59 per cent of jobs are considered highly exposed to AI—meaning the technology is likely to change how people work rather than eliminate roles outright.

AI Pushes Deloitte to Redefine Roles and Rethink Career Paths

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 +0000

As Deloitte rewrites job titles for more than 180,000 U.S. employees, Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at ɬ�﷬’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says the shift reflects broader pressures facing Canadian employers as AI transforms workplace responsibilities.

Canadian employers risk 'doing layoffs with extra steps' without AI workforce planning

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:37:20 +0000

Simon Blanchette, Faculty Lecturer, says Canadian organizations implementing AI without strategic workforce planning are doing layoffs with extra steps, because they're losing expertise, and they're not really planning for what's going to come after.

Replacing entry-level work can decimate a company’s talent pipeline

ɬ�﷬ — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:33:53 +0000

In an office environment, AI can perform many of the tasks that have traditionally been done by interns and junior employees. While that might seem like an efficiency gain, companies could lose out in the long run. The introduction of AI creates an inverse-pyramid within companies, according to Simon Blanchette, a management lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels.

Overregulation of AI could stifle the potential of the technology

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:47:08 +0000

Generative AI is changing the way people work, but many organizations are still looking for ways to use it effectively. Organizations need to think about how they want to use AI, and what their level of risk appetite.

Canada needs decisive, coordinated action to be part of next wave of AI innovation

ɬ�﷬ — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:56:21 +0000

As AI reaches a pivotal moment, Canada’s early leadership is being challenged by rapid global shifts. “Other nations are investing at unprecedented scale, while Canada risks falling behind if it does not act decisively,” says Maxime Cohen, Professor of Retail and Operations Management.

Guardrails can help ensure safe, fair and transparent AI

ɬ�﷬ — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:26:48 +0000

The genie is out of the bottle. AI is here, and isn’t going away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t build guardrails to prevent it going off the tracks, writes Simon Blanchette in The Conversation.

“Guardrails are the systems, norms and checks hat ensure artificial intelligence is used safely, fairly and transparently,” says Blanchette, a lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels. “They allow innovation to flourish while preventing chaos and harm.”

Structure of Canadian economy could provide some insulation against AI job losses

ɬ�﷬ — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:24:51 +0000

The conversation around AI and automation has taken a sharper turn. A US Senate report released by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in Fall 2025 cautioned that over the coming decade, AI and automation could destroy 100 million jobs in the United States.

But will Canada experience something similar? Maybe not, according to Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at ɬ�﷬ Desautels. “As an economy, Canada and the US are structured very differently,” Blanchette told HR Reporter.

Scoping before coding: ɬ�﷬ MMA students tackle AI for social impact

ɬ�﷬ — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:50:57 +0000

The inaugural Scope AI Thon challenged ɬ�﷬’s Master of Management in Analytics students to design strategic AI roadmaps, not code, addressing complex social issues for Centraide of Greater Montreal.

Over two sessions in November, teams explored ethical data use, feasibility and bias while working on problems such as digital inclusion and access to community services.

2025 ɬ�﷬-FIAM Asset Management Hackathon pushes students to build AI-powered portfolio

ɬ�﷬ — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 20:13:25 +0000

Large language models are changing the way we do business - or at least that’s what the companies that make AI tools will tell you. In practice, many companies know that AI tools are very powerful but are still figuring out how best to use them. This year's ɬ�﷬-FIAM Asset Management Hackathon competition asked business students to put large language models to the test and devise a bottom-up approach to building a portfolio powered by AI.