The Ask AI news roundup highlights the latest innovations, investments, and breakthroughs in Canadian artificial intelligence
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Awards and kudos
🏆 Dr. Yani Ioannou of the University of Calgary has won an Amazon award for his work on machine learning algorithms focused on “catastrophic forgetting”. Full story
Governance & Society
🤔 AI and privacy expert Briana Brownell, CEO at AI consultancy Pure Strategies: "People are starting to realize they’ve traded a lot for some of these services". Full story
💲 The University of Alberta and Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute are launching a $30-million initiative to recruit 20 new AI researchers. Full story
👍 The AI4Good Lab, established to adress gender disparity in the AI sector, has been integrated within Mila (CIFAR, Amii and Vector Institute remain partners). Full story
✋ Canadian universities are crafting ChatGPT policies in face of bans in other countries. Andrew Piper of McGill University stated: "A ban doesn’t do anyone a service”. Full story
🤯 22 year Edward Tian of Toronto has launched GPTZero, an app to detect text composed by ChatGPT: “Everyone deserves to know the truth". Full story
🤔 Toronto police consultation on Clearview AI and the scandal around facial recognition technologies "lacks sufficient public engagement". Full story
👽 Peter Ma, a 3rd year undergrad in math and physics at U of Toronto, has developed an AI tool to accelerate the search for alien life. Full story
Healthcare & Public Safety
🚀 Signal 1 has launched an AI platform at Ontario's Grand River Hospital to test the use of AI to unlock more capacity in Canada’s healthcare system. Full story
💉 U of T scientists Christine Allen and Alán Aspuru-Guzik are using AI to fast-track the design of long-acting injectable drug formulations. Full story
😲 A first in Canada cancer radiation machine in Kelowna, B.C. is using artificial intelligence: "The machine does around 80% of the work" Full story
👍 Western University researcher Maitray Patel is using machine learning to unlock the secrets of long COVID. Full story
😀 Ask AI Exclusive: Is AI poised to make major breakthroughs in healthcare? Get episode
Business & Startups
💲 Radical Ventures have made Dominic Barton partner as it seeks to raise new $550-million fund: "AI will eat all software over the next decade.” Full story
💲 FedDev Ontario has announced a $14M investment towards the growth of eight companies based in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Full story
🤝 Silo AI, the Europe-based private AI lab, has announced a new partnership with Montreal's Mila to connect state-of-the-art AI research with industry needs. Full story
😔 Google-owned DeepMind confirms that its Edmonton AI research office is closing, but other Canadian presences remaining. Full story
🤙 The Vector Institute and Communitech have joined forces to help small business leverage AI via the Vector Talent Hub, WorkInTech.ca, and Communitech Hive. Full story
😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How does an AI consultancy work? Get episode
Natural Resource / Agriculture
🍎 The Canadian Food Innovation Network is investing $2.5M into 8 projects focused on smart food processing, sustainability, and safe supply chains. Full story
🔍 British Columbia's Benchmark Metals is using AI to reveal resource expansion potential at the Lawyers gold project in British Columbia. Full story
😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How is AI making greenhouse production more efficient? Get episode
Robotics/AV/AR
📲 Toronto-based Nextech has developed a new platform to produce AI-powered human holograms to enhance trade show experiences. Full story
😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How will AI create immersive content for the metaverse? Get episode
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