It's 1997 for AI. Now What?
A private lunch during Toronto Tech Week for senior tech leaders navigating AI in high-stakes environments.
The headlines have AI everywhere, autonomous attacks, mass layoffs, vendors rebranded overnight. But step back from the noise and a different picture emerges: most enterprises are still figuring out the basics. The technology is moving faster than the people side can keep up. Investments are climbing while adoption stalls. Sound familiar? It should — we've been here before.
Cameron Schuler, Chief Commercialization Officer & VP Industry Innovation at the Vector Institute, has spent 15+ years inside the rooms where this gets decided — banks, pharma, government, and some of the most advanced AI institutions in the country. His read on where we actually are: it's the internet circa 1997. The infrastructure is real, the hype is louder than the reality, and the companies that win the next decade aren't the ones with the flashiest tools — they're the ones who figure out the human side first.
Expect a candid, conversation-led session. Light on slides, heavy on the questions you can't ask in front of a vendor.
Toronto Tech Week is a citywide celebration of the people building what’s next. From May 25–29, 2026, founders, investors, and builders come together for hundreds of community-led events across Toronto, connecting tens of thousands of people around Canadian tech. Torontotechweek.com