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"Today, a significant amount of AI research and education is taking place in the United States and China. These countries are home to many of the best universities in the world, and their governments have provided funding and created thoughtful regulations that enable innovation. But the United States and China have also built incredible business ecosystems. It’s very difficult for other countries, even those with great education, to compete with the business, engineering and investing talent of those two countries. To close this gap, and work towards decentralizing the concentration of AI technology, we must invest in education. Governments should invest heavily in educating their citizens and enter public–private partnerships to adopt AI-powered systems safely. AI will transform every facet of society. It brings tremendous promise to improve our lives and the world we live in, but it will require the creation of an AI ecosystem to ensure long-term, sustainable growth. As this report highlights, AI technology and innovation has until now been focused on a small number of regions and organizations. In building a fairer and more equitable AI-driven society, we must empower businesses, governments and citizens who may be impacted by automation to ensure that the benefits of AI are widely shared." ​Andrew Ng, CEO, Landing AI and deeplearning.ai

In its 2020 list of future jobs, the World Economic Forum listed “robotics engineers” as No. 10, in close company with “AI and machine learning specialists.” In Canada, I see huge potential for our robotics industry, with companies such as Clearpath Robotics, OTTO Motors, Kinova, Robotiq and Titan Medical already world leaders in the design and manufacture of robots for purposes ranging from materials handling to surgery.

Beyond building robots, Canada’s most significant opportunities may lie in the increased adoption of robots into economically important industry sectors, including mining, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation. And yet, Canada may be the only G7 country without a robotics strategy.

As it turns out, there is hope. According to a November 2020 report from Statistics Canada, Canadian firms that employed robots have also hired more human workers, contrary to what you may instinctively believe. In fact, they hired 15 per cent more workers!

However, this does not mean that we can all sit back and relax. Along with the increased economic activity that robots bring to businesses comes a shift in the workforce from “workers spending less time performing routine, manual tasks, in favour of non-routine, cognitive tasks.”

The roles of education and research and development — such as new programs to train the next generation of robot-savvy Canadians and collaborative research clusters — are paramount. And they need to be combined with a national robotics strategy and a progressive socioeconomic system that supports a transitioning workforce to ensure the success, well-being and happiness of Canadians, alongside our robot friends.

Joshua A. Marshall, associate professor of mechatronics and robotics engineering, Queen’s University. ​via: Global News FEB 27, 2021

CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE In-Demand Tech Skills in 2021 via Randstad.ca java linux javascript SQL python C# / .NET C / C++ cloud technologies

Artificial intelligence Salary: $88,725/Year  The average artificial intelligence salary in Canada is $88,725 per year or $45.50 per hour. Entry level positions start at $52,813 per year while most experienced workers make up to $140,000 per year. (Based on 20 salaries).  Related Salaries Intelligence Manager $105,000 (based on 15 salaries) Intelligence $78,450 (based on 283 salaries) Intelligence Analyst $76,031 (based on 124 salaries) Marine $60,200 (based on 939 salaries)​ Source: ca.talent.com ​ ​Top 121 Artificial Intelligence companies in Canada via Clutch.co March 2021  Top 129 Artificial Intelligence companies in Canada via Goodfirms.co March 2021

​2021 Predictions: What the Future Holds
January 29, 2021 - Google Cloud Thought Leaders 

“Ideologically motivated violent extremists and others are using the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to promote disinformation and alternative narratives regarding both the cause of the pandemic and potential societal outcomes. anti-government extremists, in particular, have been using COVID-19 conspiracy theories to attract followers, raise money and encourage violence." A Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Report via GlobalNews.ca DEC  2020. And from the MAY 2020 CSIS Report: "COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our country and the world. This uncertain environment is ripe for exploitation by threat actors seeking to advance their own interests."

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Yeah, that's correct. On January 5, 2021, Bloomberg reported in a News Brief that:  Back in 2012, policy makers drove their main rate below zero to defend the krone’s peg to the euro. Since then, Danish homeowners have enjoyed continuous slides in borrowing costs. (and) ​The country with the longest history of negative central bank rates is offering homeowners 20-year loans at a fixed interest rate of zero. The Bloomberg brief goes on to explain that:

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Denmark has a so-called pass-through system in which mortgages are directly tied to the covered bonds used to fund the loans. Lenders act as brokers between borrowers and investors, generating income from fees, not interest rates. Borrowers get the coupon rate, though the effective cost is generally a bit higher because bonds rarely sell at par. ​(and) ​As rates have continued to sink, other banks in Denmark -- home to the world’s biggest mortgage-backed covered-bond market -- are joining Nordea. (and) Demand is there, Lisa Bergmann, chief housing economist at Nordea Kredit, said in a note. The bonds backing the mortgages are likely to price close to a record high, she said. (full brief here)

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Cost of Living Index PRICES IN CANADA ARE LOWER Consumer Prices in Canada are 24.02% lower than in Denmark (without rent) Consumer Prices Including Rent in Canada are 20.60% lower than in Denmark Rent Prices in Canada are 11.14% lower than in Denmark Restaurant Prices in Canada are 38.97% lower than in Denmark Groceries Prices in Canada are 6.69% lower than in Denmark Local Purchasing Power in Canada is 13.11% lower than in Denmark Source: Numbeo.com

But Commute Times are Greater

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"As a city develops, nothing is more important than maintaining mobility and housing affordability." Alain Bertaud

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​While we wait for December 2020 real estate data, here is the ​Worldometers GLOBAL Covid 19 Coronavirus Data Update with charts.  % Deaths of Total Cases = 2% ​% Recovereds of Total Cases = 71% ​I will update each month end to see the change in global monthly percentages in total global Covid 19 cases, deaths, recovereds and deaths per cases. CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE

6 MONTH GLOBAL COVID 19 PERCENTAGE INCREASES
​[ Cases = 371% ]  [ Deaths = 167% ]  [ Recovereds = 430% ]

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A tweet from @JohnPasalis last week caught my attention; it included a chart (left) of the number of home sales the week before Christmas plotted over the last 10 years. The end of year swarm of sales by the FOMO 2.0 crowd is a 10 year record (maybe longer) of over 40% more than the highest of previous years recorded. Wow. I mashed up the chart with end of year data for average SF Detached Y/Y price increases and the Bank of Canada 10 year bond rate. It looks to me that as interest rates drop, the demand rises for physical assets. This can also been seen since the asset crash into March 2009 in my chart of SF Detached, Bitcoin and Gold. And if we look at the "Real" BoC Bank Rate chart which has been mostly negative since the 2009 crash, it becomes even more evident that the reach for yield comes at the expense of risk management. Although the Bank of Canada rejects the policy use of negative nominal rates (chart left), real negative rates continue to animate the FOMO crowd and force the weaker hands into lower consumption and higher savings to repair balance sheets. At the retail street level, the major banks all agree in their forecast statements (chart left) that 5 year fixed mortgage rates will remain well under 3% for at least the next two full years through 2022. These projections may not unfold as suggested; a 2020 Bank of England Staff Working Paper "Eight centuries of global real interest rates, wealth returns and broader real growth, and the ‘suprasecular’ decline, 1311–2018" concludes in part:

"The data here suggests that the “historically implied” safe asset provider long-term real rate stands at 1.56% for the year 2018, which would imply that against the backdrop of inflation targets at 2%, nominal advanced economy rates may no longer rise sustainably above 3.5%. Whatever the precise dominant driver – simply extrapolating such long-term historical trends suggests that negative real rates will not just soon constitute a “new normal” – they will continue to fall constantly. By the late 2020s, global short term real rates will have reached permanently negative territory. By the second half of this century, global long-term real rates will have followed."

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The Brookings Institution provides current World Data Lab projections indicating that there are four projected patterns of recoveries. ​Canada is projected to "recover" from the coronavirus perhaps in 2023 or 2024, and that Consumer Spending in North America is down nearly 1% Y/Y and is projected to continue dropping (charts left). Zero or positive growth in spending per capita. This group includes China, Egypt, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Fast recovery in spending per capita: recovery by 2021-2022. These “fast recovers” represent a wide mix of countries, including India, most of Europe, and much of Southeast Asia. Medium recovery in spending per capita: recovery by 2023-2024. This group includes large economies, such as the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Brazil, and most of South America. Slow recovery in spending per capita: recovery completed after 2025. This group includes Mexico, most of the Middle East, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The drop in consumption affects employment (chart) especially in service related sectors which is where nearly 80% of Canadians earn their paycheques (Workforce Distribution chart left is from Statista.com). As noted on my Household Debt chart, "The widening spread between total household debt and household mortgages means we are borrowing even more to maintain lifestyle.​" But this trend requires positive cash flow which has been pinched for many Canadian households.

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BP PLC (British Petroleum), one the seven oil and gas "supermajors" (Wikipedia) has released its 2020 oil demand projections and in February 2020 announced a new purpose – "to reimagine energy for people and our planet... ​​​​by a new ambition, to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner and to help get the world to net zero." (Full 2020 81 page report here) Bloomberg picked up the story "Peak Oil is Suddenly Upon Us" and republished some of the detail November 30th; I mashed up a few charts. ​Bloomberg made the observation that: The list of energy analysts who now foresee a peak in oil demand keeps growing. It includes Norway’s state-owned oil company Equinor (peaking around 2027-28), Norwegian energy researcher Rystad Energy (2028), French oil major Total SA (2030), consulting firm McKinsey (2033), clean-energy research group BloombergNEF (2035), and energy-industry advisors Wood Mackenzie (2035). The exporting nations of OPEC put the peak in 2040 while acknowledging that its new forecast might still prove too optimistic for oil. Notable exceptions include the International Energy Agency, which sees demand “plateauing” but not quite peaking... On December 3rd, Bloomberg published "Germany’s Electric-Car Market Is Poised to Overtake California’s" and noted that: Europe is taking unprecedented steps to phase out gasoline and diesel cars, with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson banning sales of cars that lack a plug from 2030. Germany last month said it will extend cash bonuses for purchasing EVs until 2025, expand the country’s charging network and make payments for topping up batteries easier. California will phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035...

​Cost reductions and sustained policy support are expected to drive strong renewables growth beyond 2022. Despite the challenges emerging from the Covid crisis, the fundamentals of renewable energy expansion have not changed. Solar PV and onshore wind are already the cheapest ways of adding new electricity-generating plants in most countries today. In countries where good resources and cheap financing are available, wind and solar PV plants will challenge existing fossil fuel plants. Solar projects now offer some of the lowest-cost electricity in history. Overall, renewables are set to account for 95% of the net increase in global power capacity through 2025.

Total installed wind and solar PV capacity is on course to surpass natural gas in 2023 and coal in 2024. Solar PV alone accounts for 60% of all renewable capacity additions through 2025, and wind provides another 30%. Driven by further cost declines, annual offshore wind additions are set to surge, accounting for one-fifth of the total wind annual market in 2025. Offshore’s growth moves beyond Europe to new markets such as China and the United States where ample potential remains. The rapid growth of variable renewables around the world calls for increased policy attention to ensure they are securely and cost-effectively integrated into electricity systems.

​​BloombergNEF Presentation: New Energy Outlook 2020

​​Driven by the Power of the Sun

​QuantumScape is building a better electric car battery that it says charges to 80% in 15 minutes (CNBC) DEC 8, 2020

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​​While we wait for November 2020 real estate data, here is the ​Worldometers GLOBAL Covid 19 Coronavirus Data Update with charts.  % Deaths of Total Cases = 2% ​% Recovereds of Total Cases = 69% ​I will update each month end to see the change in global monthly percentages in total global Covid 19 cases, deaths, recovereds and deaths per cases. CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE

6 MONTH GLOBAL COVID 19 PERCENTAGE INCREASES
​[ Cases = 502% ]  [ Deaths = 187% ]  [ Recovereds = 660% ]

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