Waterloo
AI
uniquely
focuses
on
end-to-end
innovation
ranging
from
foundational
to
operational
AI.
Foundational
AI
advances
the
field
as
a
whole
through
research
in
a
number
of
areas,
including
statistical
learning,
deep
learning,
game
theory
and
data
science.
Operational
AI
develops
scalable,
secure
and
transparent
solutions
for
a
wide
range
of
applications.
As
part
of
its
mandate,
Waterloo
AI
will
pursue
new
areas
of
research
with
societal
and
business
impact
including
healthcare,
environmental
protection,
urban
planning,
manufacturing,
autonomous
systems
and
human-machine
interaction
and
will
emphasize
timely
access
to
expertise
to
individuals
and
industry.
“The
launch
of
Waterloo
AI
enhances
Canada’s
leadership
in
foundational
and
operational
AI
as
it
brings
together
world
renowned
researchers
with
industry
to
accelerate
innovation
and
prepare
for
future
disruptions,”
said
Feridun
Hamdullahpur,
president
and
vice-chancellor
of
Waterloo.
“By
connecting
research
talent
with
industry
expertise,
Waterloo
AI
will
identify
problems
and
produce
solutions
that
will
actively
benefit
our
society.”
Waterloo
AI
is
a
joint
venture
of
the
University’s
Faculties
of
Engineering
and
Mathematics
and
will
also
include
researchers
from
Arts,
Applied
Health
Sciences,
Environment
and
Science.
It
is
affiliated
with
a
number
of
existing labs,
centres
and
institutes
at
Waterloo.
“Artificial
intelligence
is
estimated
to
contribute
up
to
$15.7
trillion
per
year
to
the
global
economy
by
2030;
if
properly
leveraged
AI
will
promote
innovation,
grow
the
economy
and
create
thousands
of
middle-class
jobs,”
said
the
Honourable
Navdeep
Bains,
Minister
of
Innovation,
Science
and
Economic
Development.
“As
a
world
leader
in
AI,
Canada’s
talent
and
expertise
attract
millions
in
foreign
investment
annually.
“Our
government
will
continue
to
build
on
our
strengths
in
AI
and
we
look
forward
to
seeing
the
contributions
of
the
Waterloo
AI
Institute
in
the
months
to
come.”
Waterloo
AI
is
led
by
two
co-directors:
Fakhri
Karray,
professor
of
electrical
and
computer
engineering,
and
Peter
van
Beek,
professor
of
computer
science.
Sponsors
of
Waterloo
AI
include
General
Motors
Canada,
Huawei
Technologies
Co,
Loblaw
Companies
Limited,
Nutrien,
Shopify,
Borealis
AI,
Magna
International,
Miovision
Technologies,
NexJ
Systems
and
Scribendi.