Montreal
Creativity is Computational: How Montreal’s Cutting-Edge Tech Presence Is Powering Humanity
AI is for Humanity
AI tech burst onto the scene in Montreal in the 1980s and it quickly became the city with the highest concentration of AI researchers in the world. Leading the pack for decades is the grandfather of AI and University of Montreal Professor, Yoshua Bengio, whose work has had wide-reaching impacts in Canada and beyond.
But Montreal’s AI and technology scene, more broadly, aren’t confined to the left-brain in a dichotomy of science versus art. Instead, the city masterfully melds the two worlds into one.
So how is Montreal advancing AI for Humanity? And how are AI researchers address the ethical questions around AI?
“Creativity is computational,” says Bengio when discussing the future of AI to make choices in our changing world. Abstract ideas about the world and morality aren’t inherently at odds with innovative technology, but rather must be tactfully taught to and integrated with computers.
AI for Humanity means leveraging AI technology to support the evolving needs of people around the planet. This includes AI that promotes sustainability, supports cultural preservation and the arts, and that helps expand workforce development and economic growth. One such project worth exploring, led by Montreal researcher and artist, Jason Edwards Lewis, is Indigenous AI which reimagines how to conceptualized and design AI based on Indigenous knowledge systems and an exploration of culturally-grounded AI systems based in abundance and respect for all beings.
Montreal is an AI Powerhouse
With products like Chat GPT sweeping the world, the pace and accessibility of AI is only accelerating. That’s where Montreal-based organizations like MILA come into play. MILA houses over 1,000 AI researchers whose critical work is helping pave the way for AI to make significant impacts on our society. The organization’s mission makes the socially responsible and beneficial development of AI front and center.
Other major AI leaders in Montreal include Scale AI, Numana, the Samsung AI Center, and the Future Skills Center.
Sustainable AI and Montreal’s Path to Carbon Neutrality
AI for Humanity also means ensuring the future of humanity is secure – that means making sustainability paramount. Quebec is already the number one renewable energy producer in North America, producing 99% of its electricity from clean and renewable sources. On top of that, Montreal plans to be carbon neutral by 2050 and is relying on technology to help pave the way.
Cleantech is pervasive in Montreal, with industry front runners like GE, Hitachi Energy, and Schneider Electric leading operations in the area. Montreal even hosted the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference just last year.
At a city planning level, Montreal will leverage its tech skills to fully electrify its city fleets, plus it has electric vehicle (EV) - AI industry clusters aimed at stimulating economic development while moving the city towards carbon neutrality. Two such clusters are Forum IA Québec and Propulsion Québec. Beyond EV infrastructure, the city also uses AI and tech in its city planning efforts, levering the abundance of AI start-ups and university programs based there. For example, the Key2Access app uses technology and city mapping to help folks with disabilities have better and safer access to buildings around Canada.
Technology and Workforce Development
Workforce Strategic Planning
To ensure that Montreal can meet the labor demands of its giant industries like AI, the city is working with universities and companies to advance workforce development efforts.
The metro area is divided into ten major industry clusters:
- Aerospace
- Aluminum
- Film & TV
- Logistics & Transportation
- Fashion
- Life Sciences
- Financial Services
- Informational Technology
- Clean Technology
- Electric & Smart Technology
Many of the above clusters play a significant role in the city’s continued path towards carbon neutrality and electrification efforts.
To meet the needs of the ten industry clusters, the Metro Employment Council is spearheading significant workforce development efforts, making up the largest group of labor representatives in greater Montreal. The council developed a Metro Strategic Employment Plan for 2021-2024, outlining objectives for better integration of immigrant talent into the local workforce, future skills training, worker mobility, and more.
Similarly, organization-based workforce development is popular. The organization Mitacs is a non-profit and national academic research network with a regional hub in Montreal and it recently developed its Innovation Futures: From Idea to Impact Strategic Plan, which guides ground-breaking ideas development for economic fortification and workforce talent retention through university partnerships.
Additionally, organizations like the Regional Council of Labor Market Partners of Montreal, Aero Montreal, and the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec are working on skills training and retention programs as a part of their outreach and research efforts.
Montreal’s Science and Engineering Sectors
Two of Montreal’s major job clusters – aerospace and life sciences – are dominated by technology development, advancing the region towards a sustainability and a strong workforce.
Aerospace giants like Airbus, Bombardier, and CAE, along with 200 other specialized companies, make up an industrial cluster that dominates the Montreal workforce. In fact, 1 in 60 people in greater Montreal work in aerospace. As with AI, research from local universities supports the industry. Plus, heavy public investment has helped to distinguish Montreal as an international capital for aerospace. From 2016-2021, the city invested $510 million into aerospace sector development.
The life sciences also dominate in Montreal, which is working help make Québec one of the top five North American life sciences clusters by 2027. Companies like Novartis, Roche and AstraZeneca are using AI and life sciences research to advance mRNA technology, improve diagnostics, explore cell and gene therapies, and develop biological products including vaccines.
Additionally, Montreal houses a Health Innovation District, which works to improve community health and economic sustainability across Quebec through a physical and virtual environment for fostering and developing innovative biotechnology.
Tech and the Arts
Another major cluster in Montreal is the Film and TV industry. The Montreal area is an international leader in post-production, with a significant industry presence in visual effects (VFX) – home to nearly 6,000 animation specialists alone and thousands more students in training to join the industry. Plus, beyond film and TV and show production, Montreal has long been a leader in video game development, housing over 200 video game studios.
Metro Montreal also excels in lighting and visual productions at cities around the globe, including executing major installations to cover bridges and create interactive arts experiences and concerts, such as for the Superbowl or Cirque de Soleil (which actually originated in Quebec!). One such organization at the forefront of this sector is the Moment Factory, which specializes in the creation and production of immersive environments for entertainment and beyond, such as in city planning and urban development. Another is Felix and Paul Studios, which creates interactive virtual reality experiences and Thinkwell, which designs and produces interactive virtual experiences.
Both the arts and technology sectors have long been focus areas for metro Montreal. In 1961, the city developed a policy to guide arts and architecture integration across the community. Advanced in 2003, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership was created as a non-profit to bring together community organizations and members to host events and advance cultural endeavors, including Formula 1 races.
Today, places like the Society for Arts and Technology, Art Public Montreal, the Conseil des Arts Montreal, and the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions continue to carry the torch, melding together arts and technology in harmony to track local art pieces, celebrate creative entertainment experiences, develop interactive community engagement opportunities, and Thinkwell, which designs and produces interactive virtual experiences, including current exhibits at our own Fernbank museum.
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