(Montreal) Fundamental research on artificial intelligence (AI) “is booming in Quebec and companies will have to adopt it,” explained Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, during an announcement on AI at the University of Montreal, Monday.
Minister Fitzgibbon wants businesses to benefit from the “exceptional quality” of research on AI at the province’s universities.
“Quebec has positioned itself as a true leader in the sector, especially in terms of fundamental research” and “we stand out ahead of countries like Germany and even South Korea. We have something to be very proud of. Now, what is best done in the research center must be transposed into our companies,” explained Pierre Fitzgibbon.
AI for agriculture
Asked which sectors of the economy could benefit the most from Quebec research on AI, Minister Fitzgibbon listed the battery sector, intelligent vehicles, medicine, the metallurgy industry, aeronautics, pharmaceutical, genomics, among others.
The minister is also interested in agriculture, which, using artificial intelligence, allows “to have fruits and vegetables all year round without importing them from California”.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Pierre Fitzgibbon made particular reference to the Ferme d’Hiver project, a vertical farm dedicated to strawberry production, located in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Strawberry production at Ferme d’Hiver
Yves Daoust, the founder and head of technology at Ferme d’Hiver, was one of the panelists invited by the IVADO research consortium after the minister’s announcement Monday morning.
“In a space of 600 square meters, we do the equivalent of a greenhouse production of 10,000 square meters,” explained Mr. Daoust.
The production of Ferme d’Hiver strawberries takes place inside a building, so the plants are protected from the vagaries of the weather.
Artificial intelligence can reproduce sunlight, rain and wind using different engineering systems.
“Whether the weather is nice, whether it’s not nice, whether it’s sunny, whether there are floods, whatever, we are isolated,” explained Mr. Daoust.
The company, which has commercial agreements with some of the largest supermarket chains, works with researchers from different universities who study the data produced at the Winter Farm, to better understand the biological functioning of plants.
“The more we dig into the subject, the more we realize that the industry in general has not been in a direction in accordance with nature,” he explained.
For example, when the industry encounters a problem, “it says to itself, it’s not complicated, we’re going to put a pesticide or fumigation in the field, we’re going to condemn the waterways and we’re going to condemn the land to be dependent on our products.
But artificial intelligence used in a controlled environment collects an enormous amount of data, which “allows us to better understand the biology of plants, what happens in the soil, the relationship between fertilizers and the sun, light rays , etc. “.
Ferme d’Hiver does not use any chemical pesticides. Pollination is ensured by the work of bumblebees.
Its energy redistribution system would allow it to heat up to four times its surface area in the middle of winter, thus reducing production costs and the carbon footprint of market garden products, argued Yves Daoust.
According to Minister Fitzgibonn, Ferme d’Hiver “is a good example” of what AI can bring to an SME.
But also an example, again according to the minister, of how “AI can be used to serve the needs of the population”.
IVADO obtains 8 million
The minister announced on Monday a contribution of 8 million until 2026 to IVADO, a research consortium in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
“More precisely, new programs developed by IVADO will provide support to Quebec organizations to adopt and deploy solutions based on AI research, thus supporting their digital transformation,” we can read in a government press release.
Established at the University of Montreal, IVADO brings together four other partners: Polytechnique Montréal, HEC Montréal, Laval University and McGill University.
The amount of 8 million “is part of the Quebec Strategy for Research and Investment in Innovation” which provides, among other things, “125 million additional dollars by 2027 to continue the deployment of measures linked to artificial intelligence,” explained Pierre Fitzgibbon.