Canadian AI News - November 2022

Welcome to the Ask AI news roundup where we highlight the latest innovations, investments, and breakthroughs in the Canadian artificial intelligence sector.

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Sustainability

🌲VIA Rail Canada is extending a pilot project which tests the use of AI to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions produced from its rail operations. Full story

⚡ The Federal Economic Development Agency has invested in Ottawa's BluWave-ai Inc who use AI to help utility companies add renewable energy sources to their electricity grid. Full story

✈ New pilot project collects sewage samples from planes that land at Toronto's Pearson International Airport to help experts look for new strains of COVID-19. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How can AI make an impact in carbon-intensive industries? We asked Mark Speaker, Industry Solutions Executive at Microsoft Canada. Get episode

Governance & Society

🤔 Criminal defense lawyer and Concordia PhD student Neha Chugh believes there aren’t yet enough safeguards against human or machine biases to use AI in criminal justice. Full story

🃏 ForYou is a card-based pattern-matching game about artificial intelligence and privacy that aims to help youth understand the role that algorithms play in their online and offline lives. Full story

🏢 Tata and the Urban Data Centre at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities are collaborating on a catalogue of urban data sets to allow small cities to discover relevant data. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: Can AI help preserve indigenous languages? We spoke with Anna Kazantseva, Research Officer for Indigenous Language Technologies, NRC. Get episode

Healthcare & Public Safety

👩‍⚕️ New UWaterloo study is using AI to track high school substance abuse. "Machine learning has advantages over traditional statistical methods", Helen Chen, public health professor. Full story

🛡 Toronto's Pearson airport is testing AI-operated weapons detection technology to combat the rise in ‘ghost guns’. Full story

🌟 University of Ottawa's Telfer School is launching a new Learning Health Systems Modeling Lab to test more efficient and effective means of organizing healthcare. Full story

🌊 Ontario Smart Beach project developing an AI based real-time warning system to give beachgoers up-to-date information concerning local water conditions. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive:How is AI accelerating the science behind pharmaceutical research?

We checked-in with Liran Belenzon, co-founder & CEO of BenchSci. Get episode

Business

👍 Private AI secures $8M USD in funding to expand their "Privacy Layer for Software" that identifies, removes, and replaces personal data with an unparalleled level of accuracy. Full story

🤖 Vancouver's Charli AI launches Ancaeus platform to apply generative AI to the automation of aministrative assistants at major enterprises. Full story

💸 Traders and AI scientists at RBC and Borealis AI collaborate to deliver a real-world AI solution to help improve trading results and insights for clients in a measurable and explainable way. Full story

🦄 The surprise emergence of a unicorn startup in Newfoundland provides a clue about AI’s near future in business. Full story

👍 Google Canada opens doors to new office in downtown Montréal and commits $2.75 million towards Québec's tech ecosystem and digital skills training. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How is applied (and responsible) AI impacting enterprise competitiveness? We spoke with Cory Janssen, Co-CEO at AltaML. Get episode

Natural Resources / Agriculture

☘ Harvest Corp Technology and Triton Innovation of Tillsonburg, Ontario have announced an AI-powered apsaragus harvesting machine to be available in Spring 2023. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How is AI making greenhouse production more efficient? We met with Yves Daoust, Founder and CTO at Winter Farm who were awarded $2.9M to find out. Get episode

Robotics/AV/AR

🤖 UofT professor Angela Schoellig has earned an Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship from NSERC for autonomous robotics research. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How will AI create immersive content for the metaverse? We asked Manal Siddiqui, CEO, and Pietro Gagliano, CVO, at Transitional Forms. Get episode

Public Sector

👍 SCALE AI, Canada's AI Global Innovation Cluster, has announced $25 million in investments to support six AI projects in key areas. Full story

📱Quebec's EXFO receives $15.9 million contribution from Canadian federal government to advance 5G telecommunications. Full story

😐 Artificial Intelligence is playing an increasing role in visa processing for immigrants to Canada, as is the bulk processing of applications. Full story

😀 Ask AI Exclusive: How does Canada’s NRC support artificial intelligence? Catch our interview with Dr. Carolyn Watters, Chief Digital Research Officer, NRC. Get episode

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