By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

$9 million

Artificial intelligence research in Alberta gets funding boost

Sep 19, 2020 | 12:51 PM

The Alberta government is putting up $9 million to support artificial intelligence and machine learning in the province.

Receiving the money is the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii). The funding includes $4 million from Alberta Innovates and $5 million through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system.

It’s said that the dollars will allow Amii to continue world-class research and accelerated commercialization of new technologies.

Agriculture, aviation, health sciences and energy, among others, are sectors which stand to benefit from future innovations.

“The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute at the University of Alberta is in the top five in the world for artificial intelligence research facilities, and works with technology leaders like Google, IBM and Microsoft,” notes Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education.

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Cam Linke, Amii CEO, also shared his excitement, saying there’s lots to look forward to.

“Amii exists in large part thanks to crucial investments made by the Government of Alberta, CIFAR and Alberta Innovates – and our partnership with the University of Alberta,” he says. “With renewed funding, we’re able to continue our trajectory of long-established excellence in AI and machine learning and leverage scientific advancement to speed industry adoption, job creation and innovation for Alberta’s most forward-thinking organizations.”

Adds Laura Kilcrease, CEO at Alberta Innovates: “A century ago, Albertans could never have imagined how innovations like oil sands SAGD technology would yield billions of dollars of economic wealth to the province. The government’s support of technology – including artificial intelligence – has that same potential to bring new jobs, businesses and wealth to Alberta in today’s $16 trillion global artificial intelligence market.”

A release notes the funding is part of the UCP’s Investment and Growth Strategy and overall recovery plan for the province.

Amii recently did work with OKAKI, a Calgary-based health tech company doing work to predict and prevent opioid overdoses, a project also supported by Alberta Innovates.