Latest news with #UpperBound
Edmonton Journal
21-05-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta opportunity for AI adoption takes the stage at Upper Bound
Speaker Bruce Alton, CEO and co-founder of RoBIM Technologies, discusses Alberta's opportunity for advancement in construction, AI, and robotics at Upper Bound, the AI conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre hosted by AMII on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia Edmonton may be the best-positioned city in the country to seize on the growth of AI's applications in construction. 'If you're a business person or a technologist or someone in between, you really want to focus on an area that's got growth and opportunity. This is it,' said RoBIM Technologies Inc. CEO and co-founder Bruce Alton. 'Edmonton and Alberta is a place to do it. We have the opportunity here to be global leaders in construction, AI and robotics.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Presenting to a crowd of headphone-clad listeners at the Upper Bound AI convention on Wednesday afternoon, Alton made the case that Alberta, and specifically Edmonton, is primed to capitalize on the growing demand for AI and robotics in construction. Pointing to lagging productivity in the industry, he argued that the marriage of the oldest and largest industry in the world (construction) with the newest and biggest growing industry (AI) was paramount to the future — especially as the country tries to make up ground in a housing shortage crisis. 'As it turns out, we're at an inflection point. There are a number of things that we're seeing in (RoBIM's) area, but also related to a number of other construction companies,' Alton said. RoBIM is an Edmonton-based technology company that offers ' end-to-end robotic fabrication solutions for the residential and commercial construction industries,' giving Alton a practical perspective on the needs and opportunities in the industry. He said the industry's productivity, by comparison to other industries like agriculture, has been stagnant over the past several decades, according to data from McKinsey & Company. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Zero productivity growth over the last 75 years. It's crazy. And if you kind of look back for the last 40 years, maybe since 1980, it's actually been negative. So we're actually getting worse at construction over the last many, many years,' said Alton. Alton argued that a lack of automation and robotics played a key role in the lagging productivity in the industry, saying there are six different areas where AI could improve the industry — design and planning; project costing and scheduling; operating efficiency; monitoring and inspection; training and safety; and robotics and automation. The latter is what RoBIM focuses on, creating robots that can assist with pre-fabricated construction, which is set to have a full commercial launch next year. He said that part of the company's success, which is also what he recommended to prospective entrepreneurs in the room, is that it bears in mind three important elements of business and innovation. According to Alton, you need a big market with a big problem to solve, disruptive technology, and domain and subject matter expertise, all of which lead to startups, investment, and research money. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the case of RoBIM, the market was Edmonton, Alberta and Canada and the problem was lagging productivity in construction. The disruptive technology was using robotics to automate elements of construction, and the subject matter expertise comes from the many AI experts and construction companies that are based in the city, such as AMII, the University of Alberta for AI and Stantec, Ellis Don, and PCL for construction. As the new Liberal government contends with a challenging housing crisis, Alton highlighted that the issue presents a big problem with a large market for solutions, which could be a valuable opportunity for upcoming entrepreneurs. With the same local pool of AI and construction experts as RoBIM, he said the timing is 'perfect.' 'I wanted to highlight this because I really feel now, 2025, this is really a unique opportunity to be in this space,' said Alton. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I want to leave you with a challenge, 'How are you going to get involved? What are you going to do in this space overall?'' zdelaney@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Cult of Hockey Local News Cult of Hockey Local News Columnists
Edmonton Journal
20-05-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton AI conference sells out of tickets in its fourth year running
Cam Linke is a leader in Canada's technology and startup community and CEO of Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. His research is focused on AI adapting behaviours to improve their own self-learning. Linke was at Upper Bound, the AI conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia For the first time since its inception, Upper Bound AI Conference was sold out with more than 6,000 attendees flocking to the Edmonton Convention Centre for opening on Tuesday to learn more about the colossal industry that keeps growing, including a new grant from Google Canada. 'It's definitely bigger than we thought it was going to be four years ago,' said Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII) CEO Cam Linke. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors When AMII first started its annual AI conference, it was initially just simply called 'AI Week,' recalled Linke, and the whole conference was held at the AMII office, which was able to host the smaller crowd from the early days. Several years later, and now known across Canada as Upper Bound, the conference is well-respected by researchers, investors and businesses alike, with an expanding crowd reflective of the growth in the industry. Part of the surge in the industry was an announcement by Google Canada that a $5 million grant will be given to AMII to help foster greater integration of AI education into post-secondary curricula across the country. The key to the announcement for Linke was to ensure AI literacy across different disciplines. 'Regardless of the degree or diploma, you're coming out with a solid understanding and literacy in AI, so you can start to leverage that in your job going forward,' said Linke. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We need as many informed voices in the discussion as possible as we're deciding as a country on what the impact of AI is going to be, and how we're going to lead in that. And so for us to be able to help, increasing literacy across the country is something we're really proud to be a part of.' Last year, when Postmedia attended Upper Bound, a common theme was discussions about safety in AI. This year the Google grant announcement falls in line with what Linke said is the prominent theme of this year's convention — adoption in the workforce. Previously, discussions surrounding AI in the workplace centred around trying to convince the decision-makers that using AI is valuable, but now Linke says the conversation has already changed. Now, boards and bosses already expect AI to be part of the plan forward. Upper Bound, an AI conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre hosted by AMII, lands for the third year in a row with more than 6,000 attendees on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The main hall can accommodate up to six speakers at the same time because attendees pick a presenter to watch and tune their headphone by colour to match the stage. Shaughn Butts/Postmedia Photo by Shaughn Butts / 10108058A Of course, another big topic of this year's conference is getting the chance to hear Richard Sutton, a University of Alberta professor and chief scientific adviser with AMII, speak after being awarded as the co-recipient of the 2024 Association for Computing Machinery A.M. Turing Award, which is often referred to as the 'Nobel Prize in computing.' The award is the highest distinction in the world of computer science, which is sure to spur a crowd on Thursday, when Sutton is set to speak. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While Upper Bound provides opportunities for attendees to learn, create, and experience various elements of AI, Linke is most heartened by the conference's growing role as a space for vital collisions between members of different sectors that might typically be siloed. Across the country, Linke called for better adoption of AI, which he said Canada has been slow to do compared to other countries. 'The impact that AI can have on companies' operations, on their bottom line, is really big on productivity. We know there's a productivity challenge in Canada,' Linke said. Overall, he said that in order to get the most out of AI as a tool, more adoption is needed while also investing in research to keep driving the industry forward in new ways. He hopes AMII and Upper Bound will continue to assist. 'We'll be here again next year, hopefully creating more collisions between those researchers, between that talent, between the companies trying to adopt (AI) or learning more about it. And we just think, the more that we can create that gravity here, we're going to build something really special,' Linke said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. zdelaney@ Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Cult of Hockey Sports Politics Columnists Cult of Hockey
Global News
20-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Researchers, business leaders gather in Edmonton for AI conference
At a rapid pace, the world is seeing more and more technology emerge that allows machines to simulate human intelligence. That will be the subject of the Upper Bound AI Conference taking place in downtown Edmonton this week. The artificial intelligence symposium is being held for the fourth time and is put on by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii). The event began Tuesday and runs until Friday at the Edmonton Convention Centre. The conference features speakers like Sabrina Geremia, the vice-president and country manager for Google in Canada, John Carmack, the founder and CEO of Keen Technologies, Turing laureate Richard S. Sutton, who is also the chief scientific adviser for Amii, and Elissa Strome, the executive director of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research. A number of government officials will also be in attendance. Story continues below advertisement 'Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the most defining technology in our time with its rapid growth and adoption demonstrating transformative power across all aspects of our lives,' Cam Linke, the CEO of Amii, said in a news release. 'We are immensely proud that Upper Bound has become the AI conference where researchers, policymakers, founders, and funders converge to forge a bright future for AI.' Amii is a non-profit institute based in Alberta that supports AI research and works to help scientific advancements be adopted by industries. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The conference is happening the same week that high-ranking officials from G7 countries gather in Alberta for meetings where AI will be among the topics discussed. Those meetings are being held in the mountain town of Banff and serve as a precursor to next month's G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alta. Story continues below advertisement Earlier this month, Canada's federal government revealed the country will be getting its first-ever AI ministry and that former journalist Evan Solomon would be taking on that portfolio. 3:13 Canada Election 2025: Former journalist Evan Soloman calls Liberal win 'earned' Solomon was among the political candidates who won a seat for the Liberals in the House of Commons in last month's federal election. When Solomon was named the minister of AI, Michael Geist, Canada research chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, said he believes the new ministry is a 'good signal about prioritizing AI and digital innovation.' Geist added that while there will be calls for the government to move quickly on regulation, 'there has been a notable shift globally in recent months toward a more innovation-focused approach.' –with files from The Canadian Press' Anja Karadeglija
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
World's Leading AI Minds Gather in Edmonton for Upper Bound May 20-23
EDMONTON, Alberta, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) is excited to open its doors to the fourth installment of Upper Bound, the premier AI conference, quickly becoming a marquee event for the global AI community. Thousands of world-leading AI researchers, business innovators, students and thought leaders will convene in Edmonton on May 20-23 to explore the latest AI insights, engage in critical discussions, and collaboratively shape a positive AI future. This year, Upper Bound features speakers who are at the forefront of AI research, literacy and education, and business. Prominent speakers include: Amii is also proud to announce a special initiative with Google on Wednesday, May 21 at 9:15 am MTN. Livestream link available. 'Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming the most defining technology in our time with its rapid growth and adoption demonstrating transformative power across all aspects of our lives,' said Cam Linke, CEO of Amii. 'We are immensely proud that Upper Bound has become the AI conference where researchers, policymakers, founders, and funders converge to forge a bright future for AI. This year, we are especially honoured to celebrate Rich Sutton's recent Turing Award, further solidifying Upper Bound's position as a world-leading AI event.' This year Upper Bound will explore a diverse array of program themes that are essential in today's AI-driven world. Attendees can expect deep dives into themes crucial for shaping the future of AI across various industries such as the Business of AI, AI for Critical Infrastructure, AI Literacy & Education, AI in Industrial Operations, AI-Powered Productivity, and more. Upper Bound is proudly presented by Amii. A global leader in AI research and industry solutions, Amii is one of the three national AI Institutes and centres of excellence under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Learn more at For media inquiries, media passes and interviews contact: Lynda Vang, Amii [email protected] About Amii One of Canada's three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Amii is an Alberta-based non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption. Amii grows AI capacity by advancing leading-edge research, delivering exceptional training offerings, and providing business advice to build in-house AI capabilities. For more information, visit:
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
World's Leading AI Minds Gather in Edmonton for Upper Bound May 20-23
Amii's premier AI conference welcomes over 6000 global attendees and one Turing Laureate EDMONTON, Alberta, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) is excited to open its doors to the fourth installment of Upper Bound, the premier AI conference, quickly becoming a marquee event for the global AI community. Thousands of world-leading AI researchers, business innovators, students and thought leaders will convene in Edmonton on May 20-23 to explore the latest AI insights, engage in critical discussions, and collaboratively shape a positive AI future. This year, Upper Bound features speakers who are at the forefront of AI research, literacy and education, and business. Prominent speakers include: Richard S. Sutton, Turing Laureate and Amii Chief Scientific Advisor and Fellow John Carmack, Founder and CEO, Keen Technologies Sabrina Geremia, VP & Country Manager, Google Janak Alford, Deputy Minister of Technology & Innovation, Government of Alberta Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology & Innovation, Government of Alberta Elissa Strome, Executive Director, Canadian Institute of Advanced Research (CIFAR) Amii is also proud to announce a special initiative with Google on Wednesday, May 21 at 9:15 am MTN. Livestream link available. 'Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming the most defining technology in our time with its rapid growth and adoption demonstrating transformative power across all aspects of our lives,' said Cam Linke, CEO of Amii. 'We are immensely proud that Upper Bound has become the AI conference where researchers, policymakers, founders, and funders converge to forge a bright future for AI. This year, we are especially honoured to celebrate Rich Sutton's recent Turing Award, further solidifying Upper Bound's position as a world-leading AI event." This year Upper Bound will explore a diverse array of program themes that are essential in today's AI-driven world. Attendees can expect deep dives into themes crucial for shaping the future of AI across various industries such as the Business of AI, AI for Critical Infrastructure, AI Literacy & Education, AI in Industrial Operations, AI-Powered Productivity, and more. Upper Bound is proudly presented by Amii. A global leader in AI research and industry solutions, Amii is one of the three national AI Institutes and centres of excellence under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. Learn more at For media inquiries, media passes and interviews contact:Lynda Vang, Amii About AmiiOne of Canada's three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Amii is an Alberta-based non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption. Amii grows AI capacity by advancing leading-edge research, delivering exceptional training offerings, and providing business advice to build in-house AI capabilities. For more information, visit:
