ready. an important issue for the financial sector is the state of preparedness of providers of infrastructure services ( e. g. electricity, telecommunications ). these, too, are reporting that they are year 2000 ready. with all the effort, time, and resources devoted to the task, it is not surprising that a number of knowledgeable year 2000 commentators have singled out the canadian financial sector, especially the banking sector, as one of the world leaders in year 2000 preparedness. that is a strong vote of confidence, which should help reassure canadians. still, we cannot afford to be complacent and relax our efforts. computer systems will continue to be monitored and retested right up to the end of the year. there is also a need for ongoing clear, responsible communication to keep the public well - informed and confident in a smooth year 2000 transition. at the same time, increasing attention is rightly being paid to contingency plans. in this connection, the bank of canada has recently announced a number of arrangements to provide an additional measure of confidence to financial institutions and the general public. we are putting in place a special line of credit to assure these institutions and the users of financial services that if there is any unusual demand for liquidity around the turn of the year, it will be met. and the bank is prepared to accept a wider - than - normal range of collateral to support any liquidity loans it provides. we have also made arrangements to counter any unusual pressures on money market interest rates during this period. all this should be enough to reassure the vast majority of canadians that the safest place to keep their money is with their financial institutions. in fact, they should prepare for the century - changeover weekend much as they would for any other long weekend. nevertheless, there will be some who still feel that they need to take further precautions. those who prefer a little extra reassurance in the form of additional cash can rest easy – it will be readily available. the bank has increased considerably its inventory of bank notes. and it has been working with financial institutions to ensure that the system can meet an increase in demand for cash across canada. but let me reiterate that there is no reason for canadians to feel that cash is the only way they can pay for goods and services over the new year ’ s weekend. overall, the bank of canada and other financial sector participants have every confidence that canadians can plan on it being “ business as usual ” in the financial sector heading

##lfsson, d. li and l. r. raymond, “ generative ai at work. ” national bureau of economic research working paper no. 31161 ( april 2023 ). 4 s. peng, e. kalliamvakou, p. cihon and m. demirer, “ the impact of ai on developer productivity : evidence from github copilot, ” arxiv : 2302. 06590 ( february 2023 ). boost total factor productivity ( tfp ) by 9 % over the next decade. 5 a similar sustained improvement in tfp in canada would raise the average income per - person by roughly $ 4, 000 a year. this productivity boost is not just from automating tasks. as workers in lower productivity jobs are replaced by ai, they are freed up to fill other, more productive jobs in the economy. and new products and services emerge. these latter two effects provide most of the positive impact on productivity. 6 however, more pessimistic estimates suggest that ai might have only a modest impact on productivity. 7 these assessments take the view that fewer tasks can be effectively automated. ai could also create negative outcomes, such as amplifying internet addiction and enabling malicious actors. these adverse effects could substantially decrease the net positive impact of ai. as we look at the effects of ai on the broader economy, we also need to ask if this technology will be transformative enough to significantly boost productivity growth. or will ai simply be the latest innovation in a chain of innovations — like the invention of the sewing machine or the evolution of telecommunications — to keep productivity rising at its historical pace. this matters a lot because productivity growth plays a key role in determining how fast the economy can expand without sparking inflation. so what is actually happening? the infrastructure needed to make ai broadly available is being built quickly. ai platforms are sprouting up, and it is getting easier for businesses — large and small — to access the technology. but we are still looking for the new products and services — and the new business models — that will transform efficiency and productivity. prices and inflation ai adoption — and its full effect on productivity — will play out over many years. in the long run, we can expect ai to boost productivity. higher productivity allows for higher wages and more spending without pushing up inflation. but what about in the short run? already, strong investment in ai technologies is boosting demand in the economy. the run - up