‘The future workforce skillset’

On the left is an image of a cat in a spacesuit. On the right is the original photo, which shows a woman in the spacesuit.

In the past, it would have taken a graphic artist a week to manipulate the photo and replace the woman with a feline. In the case of this image, however, it took an artist using an artificial intelligence replacement tool two hours.

For Les Klassen, it’s a fun example of the possibilities creators can explore thanks to AI. At the same time, New Media Manitoba’s newly minted senior manager of AI initiatives and services understands not everyone in the province’s interactive digital media (IDM) industry is excited about the emerging technology.

“A lot of artists are angry about how AI started,” Klassen said. “It was a really kind of skeezy way to start an entire sector: scrape the entire world’s content and not tell anybody … And I think that’s where the frustration really, really is.”

A common refrain Klassen has heard since joining the staff at New Media Manitoba at the end of October is, “I don’t want to use AI because I didn’t ask for it.”

Klassen often responds by saying, “I don’t think the printing press was really asked for (either).”

“I think what ends up happening is people create because they’re curious, and then when the creation becomes a thing, then it gets brought to market,” he said.

New Media Manitoba, a non-profit association that serves the province’s IDM sector, wants to help businesses in the province make the adjustment to AI.

The federal government gave the sector a boost in October when Prairies Economic Development Canada announced more than $2.3 million in support of New Media Manitoba. The investment will expand the association’s capabilities by integrating AI into StudioLab xR, the multimillion-dollar extended reality training site the association opened in 2024 at 201 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg.

At an event where the funding was announced, politicians and New Media Manitoba management said the investment will allow the association to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises to adopt AI, bring new products to market and create digital media jobs in Manitoba, and the association will deliver workforce training programs to equip Manitobans to succeed in an AI-enabled economy.

New Media Manitoba hired Klassen to lead AI adoption across the IDM sector by working directly with companies to implement AI at every level and keeping the industry informed on AI and digital media trends.

Klassen comes to the role with a variety of professional experience at both non- and for-profit enterprises.

He’s been an educator, filmmaker and app developer. He co-founded two virtual reality companies, Campfire Union and Flipside XR, before taking a role at Masterpiece X, an AI company in Montreal focused on 3D workflows.

“I’m just a curious person,” said Klassen, who was born in Winkler and raised throughout southern Manitoba. “I just love the novelty of new things and I like to dive deep in multiple places.

“I have done deep dives in things like motion capture, real-time animation, virtual reality and spatial design, and … AI,” he added. “I just feel like all of this new stuff is all converging in many, many ways, and this is the future workforce skillset.”

Klassen’s background makes him “a bit of a unicorn” and well-suited for his new role, said Louie Ghiz, executive director at New Media Manitoba. “He was kind of a natural fit when you look at it on paper and then, of course, when you chat with Les and you get to know him, you see how much he cares about the industry and the community.”

Klassen’s first three months on the job have involved developing upcoming programs and reviewing funding applications. It’s also involved communicating with businesses and having conversations with people who want to explore AI.

AI is “not truly replacing jobs yet,” Klassen said, adding if there is widespread fear AI will begin to replace a vast numbers, there is time for the provincial and federal governments to put plans in place to regulate its use and potentially save jobs.

“AI is here. We need to learn how it works,” he said, adding he doesn’t force it on anyone. “If somebody doesn’t want to use AI, I say great — then don’t use AI. That’s totally fine. There will be a place in the market for (products made solely by humans).”

Ghiz said New Media Manitoba is there to meet companies wherever they are when it comes to AI adoption. The association’s AI project is cross-sectoral, he added, and New Media Manitoba hopes to see innovation across multiple sectors, including construction and manufacturing.

“That’s a really exciting opportunity for us to help more companies in other sectors, which will allow us to obviously have a bigger impact in Manitoba’s economy,” Ghiz said.

New Media Manitoba data from 2022 shows, at that time, more than 100 businesses availed themselves of the association’s programming.

Today, the association’s programs reach between 60 and 100 businesses at different times, Ghiz said. He expects that number to go up as a result of New Media Manitoba’s AI project.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca