Halifax, NS — The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) has launched a Canada-wide consultation series, starting in Halifax earlier this week. The series is engaging stakeholders to provide input on a secure, scalable and future-ready national AI compute strategy.
On Monday, Aug. 18, the first stop of the national tour – hosted in collaboration with ACENET and Volta – brought together researchers and industry leaders to help shape the nation’s AI future.
Canada is investing up to $705 million in a new AI supercomputing system through the Government of Canada’s AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program. This Canadian-owned and operated system will exponentially increase the compute power available to researchers and industry, unlocking new opportunities for discovery, innovation and commercialization.
Considering this investment, the Alliance is leading researcher and industry-focused consultations across the country to capture the needs and priorities of the academic community, businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators to ensure the strategy reflects the diverse and evolving needs of Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
“AI infrastructure is nation-building infrastructure,” said George Ross, Chief Executive Officer at the Alliance. “Our national future needs a secure, public digital backbone that can power made-in-Canada discoveries, drive economic growth and deliver real social impact. With sovereign AI compute capabilities, we can harness Canadian data to solve our greatest challenges, from protecting Arctic sovereignty to advancing disease prevention. These consultations are the first step in building that future, together, informed by the researchers and industry members who are using this technology.”
Ross said that publicly-owned, integrated AI infrastructure will enable one Canadian research system to power one Canadian economy, ensuring equitable access across regions, institutions and disciplines. A connected AI and high-performance computing ecosystem supported by national-scale data storage will accelerate discovery, innovation and economic return.
The Halifax event took place at Volta, where the Alliance was joined by special guest Greg Lukeman, CEO of ACENET. The consultation series convenes targeted stakeholders and is by invitation only. Additional consultation dates will be announced in the days ahead.
Media Contact:
Katerina Firlova
Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Katerina.firlova@alliancecan.ca
647-888-9527