Amii Monthly News - September 2023

Hey there,

At Amii, we talk a lot about our vision of “AI for good and for all.” 

And I think that “for all” part is essential. Artificial intelligence holds vast potential to change how we work and live in the future for the better.

That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with the University of Alberta to launch AI Everywhere. It’s a credited introductory course open to all U of A undergraduates that will give them a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence. 

No matter your career path, AI is likely to be a part of it in some way. AI Everywhere is designed to give both technical and non-technical students the practical, real-world knowledge they’ll need for their future. 

Our first course will start in January, and students can begin signing up for it now!

As we were building out the course, one thing that came up repeatedly was questions by parents about the impact AI is going to have on their kids' future. As part of the course, I will be hosting a free, interactive online session called “Parenting in the Era of AI.” I invite parents of learners of all ages who want to know more about the impact and opportunities of AI for their children to sign up for the session on Nov. 2nd.

It’s not enough to understand AI - we must also know how to use it responsibly. We’ve just launched a two-part digital course on AI Ethics in partnership with the Digital Governance Council.

These courses help organizations learn to ensure their AI models uphold the best practices in AI governance and mitigate their risk in machine learning projects.

And, I’ve got a little insider scoop for you - TechAid is returning in October in support of some great local causes. We’ll be opening ticket sales next week, so keep an eye on your inbox for that announcement!

See you soon, 

September Highlights

Community & Industry Updates:

• The AI Everywhere course is designed by Amii Fellows & Canada CIFAR AI Chairs Adam White and Alona Fyshe. It lets students participate in real-world AI projects, delve into the multidisciplinary origins of AI, and gain practical insights that can be directly applied to their future careers.
• Adam White chatted with CBC Edmonton about the AI Everywhere course and the importance of AI literacy.
• Scale AI's ALL IN is almost here. The Amii team will be in Montreal for the event from September 27-28. Connect with us there!
• Adam Danyleyko, Amii's Product Owner - Startups, joined the YYC Data Society to discuss how AI is transforming startups.

Research Updates:

• We're thrilled to welcome three new Fellows to Amii. Learn more aboutBailey Kacsmar, Xingyu Li & Geoffrey Rockwell and their fascinating work. 
• Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Levi Lelis — along with co-authors Laurent Orseau and Marcus Hutter — received a Distinguished Paper Award at IJCAI 2023. Way to go! You can see all the papers presented by Amii scientists at ICJAI here.
• Congratulations to Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair Martha White, who was nominated as AI Researcher of the Year by Women in AI. 
• Martha White will also be speaking about reinforcement in the real world at the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute in October. 

Training Updates:

• Our brand-new AI Ethics workshops are a partnership with the Digital Governance Council. Learn about how to mitigate risk and build ethical AI practices with AI Ethics 1 and AI Ethics 2. Applications are now open. 
• Applications are now open for our ML Foundations 1 course on Oct.5. Build foundational knowledge about AI & machine learning using real-world examples.
• Build on that knowledge with ML Foundations 2, which introduces you to tools, strategies and knowledge regarding data and ML. Join the Oct. 12 class now. 
  

Upcoming Events

Institute of Corporate Directors

Sept. 19, 2023

Help! Artificial Intelligence is in the Boardroom!

Ready or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are here, and these conversations are in the boardroom.

Learn from Industry leaders, including Amii Fellow and Co-Founder Randy Goebel, what every board member needs to know about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning including:

• What you, as a director, need to understand about AL and ML
• What kinds of questions should you be asking management about AI and ML
• How you govern the opportunities and risks related to AI and ML

More Details

Lunch Lectures: Computational Typography ft. Talia Cotton

Sept. 22, 2023

In this lunch lecture series, MIT Media Lab is hosting six designers/studios whose work explore the intersection of typography, language and computation and whose work speaks to what design may look like in the future.  

This week's feature is Talia Cotton, a designer, coder, and educator, and is recognized as a leading specialist in the intersection of branding and technology.

Speakers are redefining the boundaries of traditional typography, unleashing the potential of computation to explore what new forms of communication arise when type is approached as a dynamic medium, how AI can inform new type design tools, and how computation can help democratize design.  We'll hear about what they are working on, what they are excited about and what visions they have for the future of typography.

Learn More

ALL IN 2023

Sept. 27-28, 2023

Book your place now for one of the largest Canadian events dedicated to AI: where the brightest minds and most impactful innovations in AI will be brought together. ALL IN is a unique gathering of three pillars of the ecosystem: startups and investors, industry players and leaders from research and academia.

Engage with the Amii team on September 27 and 28 in Montreal at ALL IN. Learn from Amii CEO Cam Linke during the AI Institute panel featuring CIFAR, Vector, and Mila. Or connect with our team in the Amii Lounge on-site.

Come and discover real-life use cases for AI in business, explore the latest technological advances, and take part in exciting discussions on responsible AI.

ALL IN is co-organized by Scale AI, CEIMIA, MILA and CCMM.

Register today

Lunch Lectures: Computational Typography ft. Peter Cho

Sept. 29, 2023

In this lunch lecture series, MIT Media Lab is hosting six designers/studios whose work explores the intersection of typography, language and computation and whose work speaks to what design may look like in the future.  

This week's feature is Peter Cho, a designer and design leader in Oakland, working as the VP of Design at Brilliant.org, an interactive STEM learning platform.

Speakers are redefining the boundaries of traditional typography, unleashing the potential of computation to explore what new forms of communication arise when type is approached as a dynamic medium, how AI can inform new type design tools, and how computation can help democratize design.  We'll hear about what they are working on, what they are excited about and what visions they have for the future of typography.

Learn More

Career Opportunities

• We're looking for a postdoc fellow to work with Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair. Osmar R. Zaïane on a project related to Machine Malfunction Prediction and  Machine Adaptation using Machine Learning.
• The University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is seeking an Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in the area of Predictive Analytics and Natural Language Processing.
• The University of Alberta is searching for candidates for some of the researcher positions Amii announced earlier this year. They currently include:
  
  • Assistant Professor, Space Plasma Science AI/ML
  • Assistant, Associate or Full Professor, Artificial Intelligence & Indigeneity