January @ Amii | A new class of ML Technicians, Upcoming REMI Info Sessions, and exciting updates from our research community

I hope that you had a rejuvenating break over the holiday season! The start of a new year is always exciting. We focused on reflecting on the many lessons learned in 2020 as we prepare to grow and move an ambitious 2021 ahead. The entire Amii team looks forward to harnessing the new year's opportunities and finding more ways to serve our community as they look to increase their AI adoption.

In December, we wrapped-up Phase 1 - Energy of our Reducing Emissions through Machine Intelligence program. More than a dozen companies, from startups to global leaders in the field, joined us to map AI technologies' potential applications to reduce GHGs. Later this month, join us for info sessions on our upcoming REMI program focused on agriculture.  Sessions take place on January 25 & 29, 2021. 

This week, we welcomed a new class of students to our ML Technician course! Thank you to Microsoft Canada for making $200,000 in scholarships available in 2020/2021 to empower even more Albertans to upskill for our ever-changing economy. 

Tomorrow, join us for our first livestream of 2021! In this Lunch and Learn session, we'll explore upcoming opportunities for women in AI and welcome a stellar group of speakers from across the country. 

See you over video chat soon, 

Cam

January Highlights: Research, Industry and Training 

Industry & Community Updates:

• On January 19, we'll be joining CIFAR, the Vector Institute and Mila for AICan 2021! This annual event highlights the latest in Canadian AI research and introduces new Canada CIFAR AI Chairs.
• Check out our December Virtual AI Meetup Recap! The event featured Rajiur Rahman (Methods Analyst) & Craig McKeown (Director) from the City of Edmonton talking about how automation is used in the LRT system, and Payam Mousavi (Staff Research Scientist at MDA) on AI in space.

Research Updates:

• The research article Adapting Behavior via Intrinsic Reward: A Survey and Empirical Study, co-written by Amii CEO Cam Linke, Fellows Martha White and Adam White, and researchers Nadia M. Ady and Thomas Degris was published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR) on December 14. 
• Research scientist at Google Brain (Montreal) and Amii alumnus Marlos C. Machado presented at the AI Seminar on November 27 on an operator view of policy gradient methods.
• The AI Seminar on December 4 featured Duke University professor Cynthia Rudin, asking: Can we show that a simple-but-accurate machine learning model might exist for our problem, before actually finding it?

Training Updates:

• Applications for the AI4Good Lab open on January 15! The 7-week summer training program brings together a cohort of 30 women from across Canada, and consists of a mashup of lectures, workshops and self-directed team projects.
• In just six hours, you can build a solid knowledge base in AI & ML. The next ML Foundations 1 class happens online on February 4-- register now!
• If you’ve already taken ML Foundations 1, dive deeper into the technical topics at the ML Foundations 2 class! Register now for the February 11 class.

Upcoming Events

January 15: Opportunities for Women in AI

Join us for our first live broadcast of 2021! In this Lunch and Learn session, we'll explore upcoming opportunities for women in AI. Speakers include: Yasmin Jivraj (Co-Chair AlbertaWomen.AI), Bernie Kollman (Co-Chair AlbertaWomen.AI and WAI Edmonton City Lead), Danielle Gifford (WAI Calgary City Lead), Maya Marcus (AI4Good), Destani Engel (Alberta Women AI Kickstart Program) and Christy Holtby (Managing Director, Investment and Partnership at Amii). Tune in to watch live on our Facebook page at 12:00 p.m. MST.

Visit the Amii Facebook page

January 15: AI Seminar – Finlay McAlister

In this lecture, Dr. Finlay McAlister will explore the Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (AbSPORU) Support Unit, which was established in 2015  between the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge and Alberta Health Services. The unit created infrastructure to enable patient engagement in research; improved and expedited data access and data management; provides the research community with training opportunities and expert methodological, data management and statistical support; and is working to enhance the integration of research into clinical practice and policy making through investments in knowledge translation and implementation science.

Register today

January 21: Virtual AI Meetup

Gather with the brightest minds in the AI community from Edmonton and beyond at Amii’s Virtual AI Meetup! Learn about the latest tools and techniques in machine learning, and explore topics that researchers and industry professionals are thinking about or working on. January features Crys Vanier (Executive Director of ISAIC) and Brittany F. Davis, MSc Student at WSU on the topics of computing/sandbox resources and explainable RL.

RSVP today!

January 22: AI Seminar – Marlos C. Machado

Efficiently navigating a superpressure balloon in the stratosphere requires the integration of a multitude of cues, such as wind speed and solar elevation, and the process is complicated by forecast errors and sparse wind measurements. Coupled with the need to make decisions in real time, these factors rule out the use of conventional control techniques. This talk describes the use of reinforcement learning to create a high-performing flight controller for Loon superpressure balloons.

RSVP today!

January 25 & 29: Using AI in Agriculture -- REMI Program Info Session

At this info session, learn how Amii’s government-subsidized REMI (Reducing Emissions through Machine Intelligence) Program helps companies of all sizes begin their AI & ML adoption journey, starting with GHG reduction projects. Join Amii’s Nella Brodett (Director Investment & Partnerships) and Shazan Jabbar (Machine Learning Scientist) as they explore the tangible opportunities that can be enabled using this technology.

Register for January 25

Register for January 29

See a full list of Amii and partner events on our Events page.

Career Opportunities

• Our friends at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta are recruiting for the Alberta Health Services Chair in Artificial Intelligence Applied to Health.

Recommended Readings 

• Pilot project tests AI to improve water treatment in Drayton Valley: Amii Fellow & University of Alberta Professor Martha White was featured in the Edmonton Journal for her work at the Drayton Valley Water Treatment Plant.
• Edmonton region can be a leader in the world's evolving economy: Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce spoke of our region’s expertise in AI & ML in a recent op-ed in the Edmonton Journal.

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