Tech Roundup Review: August 2018

Every Tuesday morning we publish the Tech Roundup, a newsletter full of the latest headlines & happenings in Edmonton’s technology community. In addition to the curated, easy-to-scan lists of news and events, each edition includes one or two featured items which are the updates highlighted below. Sign up here to get the Tech Roundup by email each week.

The cooler temperatures are unmistakable: fall is arriving. It won’t be long before the river valley is beautifully yellow, orange, and red! But before we say goodbye to summer, here’s our look back at the month of August 2018 as captured by our Tech Roundups.

August 7 – Making Edmonton a global hub for AI

We began the month with a recap of the second YEG AI Hub workshop that aims to make Edmonton one of the top 5 centres for artificial intelligence (AI) in the world. The goal of the draft business plan is to attract $150 million of investment to accelerate efforts already underway, and to undertake new activities in support of the vision.

August 14 – Artificial Intelligence Improv at the Fringe

With the Fringe festival approaching we highlighted the work Kory Mathewson has been doing on artificial intelligence and improv theatre. He performed in a couple of shows this year, including HumanMachine. We also noted that EEDC selected Derek Hudson as its new CEO. He touched on the importance of the tech sector in an interview with Global Edmonton.

August 21 – EEDC introduces its Innovation Hub concept

We shared the details on EEDC’s proposal for an Innovation Hub downtown. Aiming to grow the “innovation ecosystem” in Edmonton, the new building would act as an entry-point for entrepreneurs and investors. It comes at a cost though: Startup Edmonton would move out of the Mercer Warehouse and into the new building. We also wrote about the new Talent Advisory Council on Technology, setup by the provincial government as part of the implementation of the Growth and Diversification Act.

August 28 – Edmonton joins Startup in Residence program

Edmonton has been selected as the first Canadian partner to join Startup in Residence (STiR), which is “a 16-week program that brings together government agencies and startups to co-create technology solutions for civic challenges.” Startups can register their interest in participating now, with the first challenges to be issued on September 25.

Popular Clicks

These were the top 5 most clicked on items from the month:

• The Innovation Hub proposal was far and away the most popular item this month, along with the supporting EEDC report and Startup Edmonton survey.
• EXGEN4564 is a new Faculty of Extension course called Demystifying Artificial Intelligence. Taught by Anna Koop, the course starts September 19.
• Testfire Labs shared a list of 10 AI assistants that wil free you from “work about work” on the Hendrix.ai blog.
• An article in aitrends highlighted Edmonton as home to reinforcement learning.
• The Challenger City website has more on the vision of Edmonton as a global hub for AI and machine learning.

That’s a wrap on August! Sign up here to get the Tech Roundup by email every Tuesday morning. And in case you missed it, here’s our review of July 2018.