Vector Institute to strengthen Province’s Knowledge Economy, deliver innovation breakthroughs and create jobs
Ontario, Canada is ensuring businesses in the province continue to stay ahead in the innovation economy, and attract investment and top talent, by supporting a new institute for artificial intelligence (AI) with a specific focus on deep learning and machine learning.
Ontario’s highly skilled workforce, competitive business climate and recognized culture of innovation make the province an ideal home for the Vector Institute for artificial intelligence. The institute will work to produce, retain and attract top talent in the field and generate further investment from companies looking to hire experts and expand their AI divisions.
Collaborating with established businesses, start-ups and academic institutions, the institute’s work holds great promise for solving some of the biggest health, social and economic challenges of our time. Artificial intelligence can deliver improvements as diverse as accurately diagnosing an illness earlier, to protecting people against consumer fraud.
Ontario’s investment in the Vector Institute will help:
- Encourage more investment, research and development
- Retain, train and attract talent, with the aim of producing the most masters, applied masters, PhDs and post-doctoral graduates in deep learning and machine learning AI
- Provide businesses with made-in-Ontario AI tools, talent and research
- Promote exports of products and services enabled through AI
Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario said, “Artificial intelligence and deep learning are, in fact, all about people. We will harness these cutting-edge technologies to improve everyday life in Ontario, while also attracting the world’s best talent to our province. These investments strengthen our position as a global leader in the innovation economy, which is critical to creating more well-paying jobs and shared prosperity for the people of Ontario.”
Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science said, “Ontario is, and will remain, a leader in the innovation and knowledge economy, and by accelerating artificial intelligence development and research our government is demonstrating our continued commitment to improving the lives of all Ontarians. The Vector Institute will help Ontario shape homegrown solutions and stay at the forefront of AI innovation, making improvements from food safety to how we teach our children or better care for our loved ones when they are sick.”
Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Growth and Development said, “The Vector Institute is a great example of how we’re partnering with the private sector and academic institutions to make sure Ontario is driving innovation. It’s more important than ever that we take steps to stay ahead when it comes to R&D and commercialization in a highly competitive knowledge-based economy. Investments like these will help diversify our economy and create jobs of the future that will be increasingly in demand.”
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, Chief Scientific Advisor, Vector Institute said, “The opportunities for new discoveries in the field of deep learning are very exciting, and the applications are endless. Now is the time for us to lead the research and shape the future of this field, putting neural network technologies to work in ways that will improve health care, strengthen our economy and unlock new fields of scientific advancement. And with the Vector Institute collaborating with institutes in Montreal and Edmonton we can do that here in Canada.”
