TELUS

Shaping AI Leadership: From Intern to Industry Catalyst

My journey in AI has been shaped by some really interesting and pivotal experiences. During an internship at Element AI, I learnt how even the most advanced AI can fail without proper problem framing and organizational buy-in. This insight shifted my focus from just technical advancement to creating meaningful business impact.

At TELUS, that has translated into cultivating a team culture that values experimentation, aligns with business outcomes and isn’t afraid to fail fast to learn faster. This led us to rapidly and proactively embrace GenAI in 2022, developing in-house tools that sparked a company-wide AI revolution. Today, 57,000 team members actively use our AI tools, saving an average of 40 minutes per interaction. Seeing this boost in productivity and innovation has reinforced my belief that true AI leadership combines technical excellence with strategic, human-centric implementation.

Balancing Strategy and Scale: Problem-First AI Wins

TELUS’ success in implementing AI at scale is grounded in a fundamental principle: “fall in love with the problem, not the solution”. Too often we see teams focusing solely on AI automation and miss out on the real disruptive ideas that can be truly transformational.

We map the entire value chain to the end impact, often discovering that the original task isn't the most valuable to solve. Our approach combines strategic design thinking and early proof of value with collaboration across business and tech teams. We measure success by transformed processes, enhanced customer experiences and tangible efficiencies – an approach that’s resulted in over 6,000 custom GenAI solutions.

From GenAI to Field Ops: Measurable Wins

TELUS has pioneered in AI and machine learning innovations for over a decade. One key achievement is Fuel iX, our enterprise-grade GenAI platform integrating over 40 leading LLMs in one secure environment. We've also implemented AI solutions in customer support, managing 700,000 monthly queries and saving 80,000 training hours. Our NEO Assistant has revolutionized field operations with 75 percent technicians using it. These innovations have led to substantial productivity gains - over 500,000 hours saved to date and over $300 million in benefits.

Building Canada’s Edge: Infrastructure Meets Impact

TELUS is leading the Canadian AI revolution and democratizing AI access by offering scalable, cutting-edge AI solutions:

● Our Sovereign AI Factories, launching in Rimouski and expanding to Kamloops, address a critical infrastructure gap by providing Canadian businesses and researchers with powerful AI compute capabilities so they can develop and scale AI solutions within our borders, strengthening our national technological sovereignty.

● Through Fuel iX, our enterprise-grade GenAI platform, we're making secure, flexible and advanced AI capabilities accessible to both public and private sectors.

 By equipping Canadian organizations – from startups to large enterprises – we’re fueling Canada's economic growth and positioning our nation at the forefront of global AI innovation. 

This combination of Fuel iX's controlled environment and the AI Factory's computing power creates a complete ecosystem for Canadian businesses to innovate and compete globally. By equipping Canadian organizations – from startups to large enterprises – we’re fueling Canada's economic growth and positioning our nation at the forefront of global AI innovation.

Competing with Purpose: Innovation Built on Trust

In today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape, there’re several key priorities tech leaders should keep top of mind:

● Establishing robust governance frameworks: At TELUS, we were among the first to create an AI Governance Board, ensuring our innovations align with our business priorities, values and regulatory requirements.

● Fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation with clear guardrails: We've created a secure sandbox environment where teams can innovate freely while maintaining stringent controls, resulting in over 6,000 custom AI solutions.

● Responsible and ethical AI development and deployment: At TELUS, we've integrated responsible practices and privacy into our AI systems as a foundational principle. This proactive approach has earned us significant recognition: we're the first Canadian telco to sign the Government's AI Code of Conduct, the first globally to achieve Privacy by Design certification for our GenAI customer support tool and a key contributor to the G7 Working Group on Data & Technology

● Prioritize continuous learning: We've invested heavily in AI literacy programs across our organization, ensuring our teams can effectively and responsibly leverage these technologies.

● Most importantly, never lose sight of the end goal: that technology should solve real problems and create tangible value. Success in AI is measured by so much more than the sophistication of our models – it should create a meaningful impact on our teams, customers and society.

Protecting Innovation at Home: Sustainable Sovereign Infrastructure

TELUS is strengthening Canada's digital sovereignty through our Sovereign AI Factories, building critical AI computing capabilities within Canadian borders and ensuring our nation can develop and control its AI future independently. By keeping our intellectual property, data and talent within our borders, we’re creating a foundation for Canadian innovation.

What makes our approach unique is our commitment to environmental responsibility. Our AI Factories will operate in some of the world's most sustainable data centers, with 3x greater energy efficiency, innovative cooling systems operating in free cooling mode 98 percent of the year and powered by 99 percent renewable energy – proving that powerful AI computing can coexist with environmental stewardship.

To position Canada as a global AI leader, we must invest in sovereign infrastructure to enable homegrown innovation without vreliance on foreign providers; foster collaboration between industry, academia and government; and remain committed to responsible AI development that reflects our Canadian values of transparency, fairness and sustainability.