I am beyond elated to share some great news with you today.

Amii Fellow & Chief Academic Advisor and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Richard S. Sutton is being honoured with the A.M. Turing Award, along with his long-time collaborator and co-author Andy Barto. Their work in developing the foundations for the field of reinforcement learning has had an undeniable impact on AI research globally.

It’s the highest honour in computer science, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.

In addition to the remarkable work that Rich has done himself on advancing reinforcement learning, he has also inspired thousands to explore the field of RL, helping unlock its potential and promise. That impact can be felt in many of the applications that are helping people today, including in areas such as robotics and healthcare.

Rich’s impact is felt every day in Canada and in our local community in Edmonton, at Amii, and at the University of Alberta. He has helped train students like Deepmind researcher Doina Precup and AlphaGo’s David Silver, who have gone on to do many of the great things we see in AI today.

Locally, other graduates have gone on to start companies like RLCore and Artificial Agency.

As a former student of Rich myself, I think more than anything the model that Rich has exemplified of being both incredibly ambitious and forward-thinking while staying humble. No matter who he is talking to — a student, a collaborator, a stranger — Rich always treats them as a peer.

Today, we celebrate Rich’s remarkable achievements, knowing they are only part of a still ongoing story. As he told me recently, he “still wants to do amazing things” in his scientific quest to understand intelligence. And I know he will continue to inspire us all.

See you soon,

February Highlights

Congratulations to Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair Rich Sutton, who was awarded the A.M. Turing Award along with long-time collaborator Andrew Barto for their essential work in reinforcement learning.

Check out this discussion with Amii CEO Cam Linke, in which Rich talks about receiving the top honour in computing science and his plans for the future.

Community & Industry Updates:

Leadership update at Amii: On March 27, 2025, Bruce Johnson will complete his term as Board Chair, and long-time Board member Joan Hertz will step into the role. We’re grateful for Bruce's leadership and excited for Joan to guide Amii into its next phase of growth.
Be a part of Upper Bound 2025 and show the amazing AI community in Edmonton. Apply to host a community event at this year's conference.
Congrats to Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair Geoffrey Rockwell and Amii Director of AI Trust & Safety Alyssa Lefaivre Škopac: both have been named members of the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Research Program Research Council.
Amii CEO Cam Linke recently received the JA Northern Alberta Impact Award, highlighting his outstanding leadership and impact on the innovation ecosystem in Edmonton, Canada and beyond. Way to go, Cam!
Amii is proud to partner with North America's leading energy event, Global Energy Show Canada, taking place June 10–12, 2025, at the BMO Centre, Calgary Canada. Registration is open now.

Research Updates:
- The future of Large Language Models is changing - and bigger isn't always better. In the latest episode of the Approximately Correct podcast, Amii Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair Lili Mou talks about the opportunities opened up by more efficient LLMs.

Amii researchers were at the AAAI Conference in Pittsburgh. Check out the research they presented, including work on making generative AI safer and AI agents better at planning in complex environments.
Amii continues to attract and retain the best and brightest in AI! With the renewals of Alona Fyshe and Frank Wood as Canada CIFAR AI Chairs, Amii now boasts 37 Chairs – further solidifying our position as a global leader in AI research and development.

Training Updates:

ML Foundations 1: Learn the basics of AI. Next class: March 6
ML Foundations 2: Build on the basics. Next class: March 13
AI Ethics 2: Turn principles into practice. Next class: March 20

Career Opportunities

Amii Staff Positions:

Amii Staff Positions:
- Machine Learning Intern - 5 months (Advanced Tech Team): Develop, test, and refine advanced RL models designed to autonomously manage set points in upstream natural gas systems.
- Machine Learning Intern - 4 months (Advanced Tech Team): Analysis of audio data sourced from various environments, facilitating real-time monitoring and management of noise levels.
- Machine Learning Resident - 12 months (Advanced Tech Team): Work at the forefront of NLP innovation, developing Agentic AI RAG and chatbot systems from the ground up.
- Machine Learning Resident - 12 months (Advanced Tech Team): Leverage Generative AI for Computer Vision in visual effects, film industry, and gaming.
- Machine Learning Engineer (Engineering & Performance Team): Manage infrastructure, optimize AI workflows, develop training materials, and contribute to technical development.
- Director of Engineering (Engineering & Performance Team): Help our teams to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions.
- Interested in working at Amii? Introduce yourself by submitting your resume to Amii anytime!
Amii Academic Positions:
- AI + Psychiatry: Postdoctoral Fellow (multiple)
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Machine Learning in Medicine (Russ Greiner)
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Machine Learning in Foundations of Robust and Trustworthy Machine Learning (Nidhi Hedge)
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Machine Learning in Strategic Classification and Causal Models (Nidhi Hedge)
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Machine Malfunction Prediction and Machine Adaptation using Machine Learning (Osmar Zaiane)