Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming technology and the world around us. At UBC, our researchers lead the way in developing the underlying algorithms that power AI and in developing new applications of AI that are changing the nature of research and generating impacts in areas as diverse as human and environmental health, language and culture, and the discovery and optimization of materials.
Our researchers are applying machine learning, natural-language and image processing to transform medical diagnosis and treatment, to assist in complex decision making, to discover and optimize materials, to alter how we teach and learn, and to determine what data we can trust. Others are tackling the concerns around privacy and the ethics of AI as it becomes an increasing part of our everyday lives.
Medical diagnosis
UBC researchers are developing applications of AI to make more rapid diagnoses of diseases, like sepsis, and to put the diagnostic power of tools, such as portable ultrasound, into the hands of more physicians, transforming emergency and rural care. They are using AI to enable the earlier diagnosis of diseases and finding new ways to predict patients' risks of developing conditions such as dementia.
Materials discovery
From automating experiments that test and optimize new, green materials, to making stronger and more reliable composite materials, UBC researchers are applying AI to discover new and more effective materials.
Drug and treatment discovery
UBC researchers have harnessed AI in a new platform to help discover the most promising opportunities for new treatments and therapeutics, rapidly screening billions of drug compounds. They are also developing algorithms that can find “invisible” results, such as those in microscope images, and using AI to assist in planning treatment, and even predicting the next wave of illicit and untested designer drugs.
Computer graphics and imaging
UBC has a long history of developing and utilizing AI to enhance image, graphics and animation applications. The SIFT algorithm developed more than 20 years ago remains the gold standard in image matching and transformation, with commercial applications including panoramic image stitching. Other UBC researchers are applying AI to animation and object recognition.
Language processing
Learning what sources we can trust in the deluge of data and information is one way in which UBC researchers are applying AI. Natural-language processing is also being used to examine how AI can better build coherent narratives from data and help to ensure signs of patient distress are identified from clinicians' notes. Our researchers are also exploring the applications of AI in preserving and revitalizing languages.
Monitoring & Environment
UBC researchers are applying AI to help monitor our environment and enable faster and safer responses as well as assess the safety of our water supplies.
Teaching and Training
UBC researchers are using AI to develop new ways of teaching and learning in dynamic environments.
Decision Making
Our researchers have an impressive track record of developing algorithms that are applied to assist human decision making, such as optimizing business decisions based on market conditions or doing the heavy-lifting in making complex decisions on a national scale. They are also applying AI to enhance corporate and educational environments and make the decisions that can safely guide autonomous driving.
Ethics and Privacy
Concerns around ethics and privacy in the age of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies such as drones and bots are the focus of a number of our researchers. While some UBC researchers are looking at how to ensure that AI is applied in ways that do not adversely impact us, others are also investigating how AI can actually can be harnessed to preserve or enhance our privacy.
AI-focused research centres, clusters and initiatives at UBC
CAIDA: UBC ICICS Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making and Action
CAIDA comprises more than 100 professors and their research associates, spanning 27 departments, schools, institutes and groups. The Centre's focus is the development, analysis, and application of AI systems for decision-making and action, enabled by core AI technologies such as machine learning and automated reasoning.
The Artificial Intelligence Methods for Scientific Impact (AIM-SI) interdisciplinary cluster within CAIDA is designed to significantly increase UBC’s teaching and research capacity in AI.
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Project ADA
Project ADA was the world's first autonomous discovery platform for thin film materials. Its mission was to accelerate the discovery and optimization of advanced clean energy materials by developing self-driving laboratories that combine flexible automation with machine learning and computational screening. Drs. Hein and Berlinguette now lead the Vancouver branch of the Acceleration Consortium which received a $200-million grant for self-driving lab development from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).
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Data Science Institute
The Data Science Institute is an initiative designed to incubate and accelerate research, innovation and training in data-intensive science. Working across the university’s data science community and advanced computing teams, DSI equips researchers and external partners with the approaches, tools and expertise they need to fully leverage the potential of big data.
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TrustML
The TrustML cluster facilitates development of trustworthy machine-learning-based systems, i.e., systems that are reliable, secure, explainable, and ethical.
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Natural Language Processing (NLP) group
The Natural Language Processing (NLP) group at the University of British Columbia conducts research on core NLP problems, computational linguistics, text mining, and visual text analytics.
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Data Science and Health
The Data Science and Health (DASH) cluster is building a system to link health research data in BC by enhancing the availability and use of health data to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, and enable computational tools that speed discovery of new knowledge, optimizing health outcomes for all BC residents.
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Human-Ai Interaction @ UBC
HAI @ UBC, part of the Department of Computer Science, is at the intersection of AI, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Cognitive Science, with the overarching goal to support Human-AI collaboration via trustworthy AI artifacts that can understand relevant properties of their users (e.g., states, skills, needs) and personalize the interaction accordingly, in a manner that preserves transparency and user control.
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Digital Transparency
The Digital Transparency Research Excellence Cluster is working with stakeholders to provide public education on AI and data literacy through innovative projects designed by the interdisciplinary research team. They also develop computational tools to promote AI and data safety and serve as a resource for policymakers seeking guidance on regulation.
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MUlti-Scale multi-modal Image and omics Computing for health (MUSIC)
NSERC CREATE program that intends to respond to an acute need for a multi-faceted, data-driven approach to understanding the biological processes that lead to disease. MUSIC is a unique program in Canada that provides comprehensive training that integrates AI/machine learning skills with imaging and omics biological data across multiple scales and modalities.
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