Recent innovations, investments, and warning signs from Canada's world-class artificial intelligence sector
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AI News 2023
View Canadian AI news roundups from earlier this year:
Editor's picks for November 2023
🤔Feds asking if copyright protections should apply to work created by artificial intelligence or be reserved for work created by humans. Full story
🫤According to a recent survey, 50% of Canadians can’t differentiate between real and AI-generated content. Full story
👍Toronto-based Promise Robotics has raised $20.8M CAD in Series A funding to accelerate the use of robots in home building. Full story
🐟British Columbia First Nations, SFU, and Feds are testing ‘Salmon Vision’, an AI tool that detects different species with 80-90% accuracy. Full story
👍Proposed amendments to AI and Data Act (AIDA) could make the proposed law have more impact than originally contemplated. Full story
🎓Western University appoints Mark Daley as Chief AI Officer to oversee AI as a learning tool - the first such appointment in Canada. Full story
Breakthroughs, investments, and awards
🏆Sanctuary AI’s Phoenix, a humanoid general-purpose robot, has been named one of TIME’s Best Inventions for 2023. Full story
💸Toronto-based Arteria AI has raised $46M CAD in Series B funding to help banks turn documents into data. Full story
👍University of Alberta targets $50M with new Innovation Fund focusing on artificial intelligence, health, energy and agriculture. Full story
Governance, ethics, and regulation
😐Canadian Minister attends AI Safety Summit in UK, stating that "The risk is that we do too little, rather than too much". Full story
Public and higher education
🫤 Carleton University report points to a dilemma: How to embrace AI in the classroom while trying to curtail cheating. Full story
🤔D2L survey reveals 13% of colleges and universites have no AI regulations or policies. 56% of faculty concerned about impact on tuition fees. Full story
Sustainability, oceans, and agriculture
🔥Alberta Wildfire using AI to predict wildfires in collaboration with AltaML, the Alberta government, and Mitacs. Full story
🐄 Experts say AI, automation, and robotics have potential to help labour shortages and food safety in the meat-processing sector. Full story
🐮Alberta Innovates is investing in the use of artificial intelligence to better identify lame cattle before transport to a feedlot. Full story
Healthcare and life sciences
👍The Wilson Pregnancy Lab at McMaster University using machine learning to help predict the 15 -25 per cent of pregnancies that end in miscarriage. Full story
Business, startups, and public sector
👍BlackBerry has announced plans to launch Generative AI-powered cybersecurity assistant to analyze potential threats in real-time. Full story
🤖 Waterloo's OpenText has released LLMs called 'Aviators' that enable organizations to address multiple AI use cases without moving their data. Full story
👻 Scary good or just plain scary? Airbnb used AI to help crack down on Halloween parties in Toronto. Full story
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