Northern Ontario colleges and universities adding more artificial intelligence courses

In January Sudbury's Cambrian College is launching a new program on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

The northern Ontario college has incorporated AI in past courses and programs, but this will be the first time students will dedicate two full semesters to understanding how AI works, and how to use it.

Program co-ordinator Yousef Elarian says the studies will focus on three areas: how to create visuals using generative AI, understanding natural language processing models and working with speech and sound recognition.

Pamela Teed, chair of Cambrian's Schools of Information Technology and Creative Industries, says a program dedicated to AI is a natural progression for the college.

"As we are all seeing happening before us, AI is touching all sectors, all industries, or most I should say," Teed said.

"So absolutely, we're seeing more curriculum being developed specifically for programs."

Reza Dibaj, a computer science professor at Cambrian, who came to the college to be part of the new AI and machine learning program, goes further.

He says we're at the start of an AI revolution that could have as great an impact as past technological revolutions before it.

"I always think about two photos that show New York. One in the beginning of the 20th century, it's in 1900, and we have another photo that shows it in 1914, just 14 years later," he said.

"[In] the first one you see the streets full of horses andcarts. In the second one, it's machines, cars, vehicles. Nothing is going to be the same 10 years from now. But the thing is, it's not going to be a threat. It's the way that we look at it. It's an opportunity and we have to embrace it."

Other post-secondary institutions in the northeast also offer a suite of programs and courses that teach students how to work with AI.

At Laurentian University in Sudbury, Meng Cheng Lau teaches courses in AI, machine learning and robotics.

Lau's specialty is the intersection of AI and robotics, designing robots that work independently using machine learning.

He says there are three categories of people who will need to understand AI at different levels.

The first category isresearchers at universities and companies like Chat GPT and Google who are designing AI systems.

The second group is made up ofpeople like computer programmers and engineers, who aren't designing AI systems, but are using them to build things like better software or robots.

The third group is everyone else. People without deep technical expertise who are using, and will continue to use AI as a tool in their daily lives or their jobs.

Lau says everyone should have at least a basic understanding of how these systems work. He compares it to car ownership.

"If you drive a car you don't necessarily need to know how to fix the car, right?" he said. "But it's good to know some fundamentals."

At Algoma University, in Sault Ste. Marie, the focus is on practical uses for AI.

Computer science student Muhammad Hassan Jamilrecenlty won a gold medal at a competition in Germany where he had to pitch a business idea that involves AI.

His idea was to develop an AI-powered program that can help people improve their sleep.

"Nowadays, sleep is a big issue," he said. "What this model can do is help them to get the sleep that they want."

He proposed that a wrist-band device, like an Apple Watch, could gather a person's vital signs and measure when they fall asleep. An app could then connect to devices in a person's home, such as smart speakers, to create conditions perfect for sleep.

Mahreen Nasir, an assistant professor at Algoma's School of Computer Science and Technology, says it's important her students get hands-on experience working with AI systems.

"Our aim at Algoma University is for our students is not only just to provide them with theoretical foundations but also pairing it up with applications, real world applications," she said.

Advantages and limitations

Nipissing University in North Bay offers a post-baccalaureate diploma in artificial intelligence and machine learning, aimed at people already in the workforce who want to upgrade their skills.

Nathan Colborne, Nipissing's dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, says the program is for people who don't necessarily have a computer science background.

Colborne says it will be increasingly important for students to understand the capabilities of AI, but also its limitations.

"I think going to be a key thing in educating students to recognize not just the limits of them or the possibilities in them, but what is it that they actually are doing?" he said.