Montreal's Mila institute aims to build network of Indigenous AI professionals

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

On Monday, a cohort of 21 Indigenous students from across Canada gathered at Mila, a Montreal-based research institute, to learn about artificial intelligence.
This is where they'll stay, for the next six weeks, learning as much as possible about the technology, networking and pitching ideas about how AI can be used to benefit Indigenous communities.
The program, titled Indigenous Pathfinders in AI, was developed by Mila in partnership with Indigenous education charity Indspire, the largest non-governmental funder of Indigenous postsecondary education in Canada.
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Lynnsey Chartrand, head of Indigenous initiatives at Mila, said the Pathfinders program was established to build a community of AI professionals in Canada. She said it's one way to make sure First Nations in Canada aren't left behind in the burgeoning industry.
'If we don't figure out what we're going to do about it, understand it better, develop a baseline level of preparedness, then those decisions are going to be made for us, imposed on us, with the potential of it becoming yet another tool of colonization,' Ms. Chartrand said.
Indigenous people in Canada make up 5 per cent of the population, according to the 2021 census. Yet, a survey by industry association Tech and People Network found that Indigenous people in Canada's tech sector make up less than 1 per cent.
This is where the Pathfinders program hopes to make a difference. By inviting Indigenous adults to apply without any prerequisites, Ms. Chartrand said it attracts a diverse range of students seeking everything from a career change to an upskilling opportunity to knowledge to bring back to their community.
It's a targeted solution for a clear, timely opportunity, Ms. Chartrand said.
'If we're sitting there waiting for there to be 1,000 PhDs who are in computer science who identify as Indigenous, I think we're going to be waiting too long,' she said.
Noah Favel is one of the 21 students who make up this year's cohort. Heading into the program, he has a clear goal: figure out how to use artificial intelligence to improve the efficacy and ethics of Indigenous law.
As a recent law graduate who articled at a boutique Indigenous law firm in Calgary, he noticed the fees charged by lawyers at competing firms often take millions out of major settlements received by First Nations.
'This is money that should be going towards First Nations health care, First Nations schools, their education,' Mr. Favel said.
Determined to challenge this as the status quo, Mr. Favel said he believes large language models (LLMs) could be used to help lessen the amount of work lawyers do – and therefore the amount they charge – to First Nations at the end of multibillion-dollar settlements.
He said much of the work done by lawyers representing First Nations is based upon existing documents sourced from a variety of public databases.
Mr. Favel said he sees an opportunity to train an LLM to interpret those documents and perform constitutional legal analysis in a more efficient manner.
'We're hoping that we can substantially, fundamentally change the fee structure against Indigenous communities,' Mr. Favel said.
But first, he needs to gain a better understanding of the mechanics of AI and that's why he applied for the Pathfinders program.
Every student receives a stipend of $5,800 to attend the program, Ms. Chartrand said. Their flights and accommodation are paid for, and Mila keeps a tab open at nearby Cafe Guerrero during the program so students can eat there without having to pay. Other basic living expenses are also covered.
Mary Gallerneaut was one of 11 students who took part in the inaugural Pathfinders program last summer. Currently pursuing a PhD in mechanical and materials engineering at Queen's University, she applied for the program because she wanted to meet other Indigenous people interested in using AI as a tool for autonomy.
'When you see someone who shares your roots using AI to make change, you stop asking if you belong and you start asking what you'll build,' she said.
Now, Ms. Gallerneaut and fellow program alum Garrett Hrechka are extending their residency at Mila, which they won on the pitch day at the end of last summer's program.
Their winning pitch, SAIGE, is an AI-based scholarship matching tool designed to help Indigenous students find funding that's available to them.
Working remotely from Kingston and Dauphin, Man., the pair have built a SAIGE prototype which Ms. Gallerneaut said is currently being tested by a small group of people.
Without the financial, technical and peer support offered by Mila, she said developing SAIGE wouldn't have been possible. More importantly, without the Pathfinders program, she never would have met her co-founder, Mr. Hrechka.
These are the kinds of connections which Ms. Gallerneaut said are often hard to come by for Indigenous people in tech yet are critical to ensuring a diverse population is shaping the future of AI.
'That future that we're building, if it's only a few people building it, it's not going to serve many of us.'