The collaboration between Amii and ZeroSound aims to address an invisible problem: noise. An estimated 11 million Canadians work in noisy environments, and workplace-related noise has been linked to hearing loss, high blood pressure, sleep issues, and other health concerns.

This collaboration aims to develop and test reinforcement learning (RL) methods that integrate with ZeroSound’s innovative active noise cancellation technology. ZeroSounds’ noise-suppression panels are designed to counter the wavelengths of a loud environment: not just blocking the noise, but actively eliminating it.

Using Amii’s expertise, reinforcement learning allows the panels to react to unpredictable changes: if a panel is moved or a new noise source is introduced, ZeroSound’s technology can automatically adjust. This RL approach has been promising, achieving noise suppression of approximately 12-15 dB — which could reduce a loud construction site closer to the level of a vacuum cleaner. ZeroSound’s technology could not only make industrial workplaces safer, but also has applications in reducing the sounds of noisy intersections, health facilities, and more.

AI Scribe is a physician-designed AI tool that captures notes during conversations with patients, reducing administrative burdens on medical professionals and allowing more attention to patient interaction. Note-taking and other administrative tasks currently put a massive strain on doctors — the Canadian Medical Association estimates that physicians spend a collective 18.5 million hours on them each year. And 75% of doctors say administrative tasks take away from their ability to help patients. AI Scribe aims to reduce that workload.

The tool was built by a team of physicians,  including Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair Ross Mitchell, ER doctor and engineer, and University of Alberta clinical professor and ER doctor Jake Hayward. The tool records and transcribes conversations between the doctor and patients, providing comprehensive, structured notes of the meeting.

AI Scribe has already rolled out for testing in thousands of sessions across Alberta emergency departments, with doctors reporting being able to see 15% more patients due to the time saved while using the tool.

Reinforcement learning is making water treatment more effective, resulting in lowered costs, less chemical use, and a smaller environmental impact. RL Core Technologies is a start-up co-founded by two Amii researchers: Canada CIFAR AI Chairs Martha White and Adam White. With an approach that combines reinforcement learning with the expertise of human operators, RL Core allows control systems to make use of historical data and current conditions, enabling facilities to make adjustments in real time.

The process has seen efficiency gains of up to 10-20% each year, resulting in thousands of dollars of savings in resource costs and equipment maintenance, while making the treatment plants more sustainable. RL Core is currently running three active deployments of its technology in water and wastewater plants in Alberta and British Columbia.

AI is changing both education and the economy, and it is clear that AI skills will be necessary for future generations. In fact, the vast majority of parents, educators, and students feel that knowing how to use AI is important to future career success, according to a recent survey by education charity Actua.

Despite its importance, the same survey found that fewer than half of educators feel they have the tools to teach students about AI effectively and responsibly. To address these critical concerns, Amii offers classroom-ready AI learning kits that include curriculum-aligned lesson plans, activities, and readings. So far, those learning kits are being used by more than 1,000 teachers and 60,000 students across the country.

Amii also offers free personal development courses and coaching sessions for high-school educators willing to learn more about teaching core AI literacy competencies to their students.

Amii has partnered with pipikwan pêhtâkwan on wâsikan kisewâtisiwin, an AI-powered solution that uses advanced natural language processing (NLP) to combat online hate against Indigenous communities. Using a culturally-sensitive approach led by Indigenous experts, this method can help identify veiled meanings and implications that might otherwise be missed by traditional moderation. 

The solution includes two approaches. First, an AI-enabled plug-in that identifies both overt and covert racist speech on the social media of Indigenous users, automatically hiding harmful comments and making it easier to report.  The use of machine learning allows the tool to more accurately spot coded language that is meant to slip by filters and moderators. 

The second part of the project involves a similar plug-in for non-Indigenous users, which can flag for biased language in writing and make suggestions on how to make language more culturally appropriate. 

In 2024, wâsikan kisewâtisiwin was chosen as a finalist in MIT’s global Solve competition, which identifies projects that are solving critical problems for the public good.

The video gaming industry is huge and only growing bigger. The global gaming market was estimated to be worth $415B in 2024 — larger than the recorded music and film industries combined.

As games become more sophisticated and continue to reach new audiences, Artificial Agency is building an AI-powered behaviour engine that revolutionizes how video games are made and played. This engine enables characters and game worlds to act and react independently to the player, creating a more immersive world that is personally tailored to what the player finds fun. 

Artificial Agency’s groundbreaking work highlights how fundamental AI research creates the foundation for innovative commercial applications that get attention: in 2024, the company attracted intense investor interest and raised $16M (USD) to continue developing its technology.

Machine learning is becoming an essential tool in space science, enabling us to learn more about our universe. From analyzing the massive amounts of data collected from satellites and spacecraft to creating autonomous systems that can explore areas far from Earth, artificial intelligence is changing scientific discovery.

Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Abby Azari’s is also a Science Team Member of the NASA MAVEN mission to Mars where she leads machine learning research relevant to studying Mars’ space environment. Her research applies machine learning to solve challenges in planetary science and space physics and her interdisciplinary contributions have led to further insights into topics like the atmosphere of Mars and Saturn’s magnetosphere.

DrugBank is the world’s largest pharmaceutical database. A freely-accessible digital platform sharing detailed data on drugs, it is an invaluable tool for both researchers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and supports breakthroughs in drug discovery, development, and clinical research.

Drugbank began as a project at the University of Alberta before spinning off into an independent startup. Amii was an early partner in the company’s growth, working to help Drugbank integrate artificial intelligence into its database while growing its internal expertise in natural language processing and other AI disciplines. 

AI remains a core part of Drugbank’s success. Automated information extraction allows the Drugbank database to remain current with the flood of new medical research and insights published every day, while maintaining the strict accuracy required in the medical field. The company has also recently launched a new AI-powered platform combined with human expertise to support clinical decision-making and drug discovery research.

Complying with regulations is a significant task for many companies, especially those working in high-regulatory industries like energy, utilities, and manufacturing. And it's a burden that continues to grow  - the number of federal regulatory requirements in Canada grew by about 2.1% annually between 2006 and 2021. 

Ultimarii is using AI to change the way that organizations handle their regulatory workflows. Their platform is trained on thousands of pages of regulatory filings, allowing the models to make insights, automate complex tasks, and flag potential risks before they become an issue. The result is a streamlined regulatory workflow that reduces costs and prevents long delays in getting projects off the ground. Ultimarii recently secured $5.2M USD to scale their platform, intending to support major projects in sectors like energy, mining, and utilities. 

Samdesk is an AI-powered platform that delivers real-time crisis alerts by analyzing billions of data points. This allows organizations to respond to news events, disruptions, and other surprises up to  30–90 minutes faster than traditional systems.

An alumnus of Amii’s Level-Up startup coaching program, Samdesk has scaled up its AI models that look for connections and insights among the endless flood of data from social media and other information sources. That, combined with real-time verification from experts, allows the company to provide up-to-the-minute alerts to its clients, which include international news organizations, governments, and even NATO.

Artificial intelligence is being used to revolutionize the field of medical imaging. Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR Chair Jacob Jaremko’s work on using machine learning in ultrasounds has made great advances in making ultrasound easier and more accessible to everyone. 

Ultrasound imaging is an extremely common and helpful diagnostic tool. But properly using and interpreting ultrasound images is a specialized skill, requiring extensive training and experience. That has led to a severe shortage of ultrasound technicians in Canada: surveys show that 64% of sonographers express feelings of burnout due to their workload. This also means that many remote and rural communities, especially Indigenous communities, don’t have easy access to ultrasound imaging and must travel long distances for appointments. 

Jaremko’s work has developed machine learning models that can be used with small, portable ultrasound machines, allowing them to be used with less extensive training. The software can guide the user on how to position the scanner to achieve clear images, which are then uploaded into an AI tool trained on thousands of other images to spot anomalies and concerns. It’s not a replacement for trained ultrasound technicians, but Jaremko says it could be a powerful tool for streamlining cases, reducing the workload for human experts, and drastically reducing wait times. One of the research team’s primary focuses is on using the technology to more effectively detect hip dysplasia in infants, which can lead to earlier treatments for a condition that would otherwise be missed. 

This research led to the creation of a successful start-up, Medo.Ai, which focused on commercialization. In 2022, Medo was acquired by ultrasound hardware maker Exo, which is integrating the AI tool into its ultrasound devices.

As groundbreaking AI research turns into real-world impact, ensuring the infrastructure exists to support AI projects is essential. Calgary-based Denvr delivers high-performance AI cloud infrastructure, offering scalable compute services and private AI platforms to accelerate real-world development.Denvr plays an important part in the AI ecosystem in Alberta, helping support AI researchers and groups within the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy with compute resources.

The University of Alberta’s BLINC Lab (Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control),  supported by Amii, is transforming research into artificial limbs, leading to new prosthetics that are easier to control and more responsive to the needs of those with limb differences. 


Co-led by Jacqueline Hebert, MD, and Amii Fellow & CIFAR AI Chair Patrick Pilarski, the interdisciplinary lab explores how to improve sensory motor control and integration of advanced prosthetic and robotic systems. By integrating AI approaches like reinforcement learning in the limb control systems, the prosthetics can learn from the individual needs and movements of the person wearing it, becoming more effective through interactions with the user.

The lab’s development team recently received international attention when they took their AI-powered prosthesis to Cybathlon, the premier international competition for assistive technologies, where they placed in the top eight globally in the ARM category.