Overview
The Alberta government partnered with AltaML, a world-class Canadian artificial intelligence (AI) company headquartered in Edmonton, to introduce GovLab.ai. AltaML works alongside government staff and post-secondary students and graduates to develop smart products and models that leverage AI and machine learning (ML) to solve complex, real-word problems.
Economic opportunities
GovLab.ai helps cement Alberta as a dominant player and innovation hub that attracts talent, business, and job-creating investment. The ultimate vision is to create economic growth opportunities by developing intellectual property backed by Alberta public sector organizations.
Growing in-demand skill sets
GovLab.ai is designed to encourage the growth of ML and AI skill sets that are in high demand across Alberta and around the world.
GovLab.ai includes a talent accelerator for government staff, post-secondary students and recent graduates. Students and graduates gain real-world, hands-on experience developing solutions, including those designed for the public service. Government staff gain new skill sets and ideas needed to become agents of change in their departments, advocating for more technology shifts.
Investments
The Alberta government is investing $21.6 million over 5 years, ending in 2027. Funding is allocated by Alberta @ Work, through the Alberta Technology and Innovation Strategy.
AltaML committed $1 million toward the first year of operations.
Mitacs – a Canadian non-profit national research organization that partners with academia, private industry and government to operate research and training programs in fields related to industrial and social innovation – also committed $1 million toward the first year of operations to support job opportunities for post-secondary students.
Lab recruitment
GovLab.ai operates on a cohort basis with intakes of government staff and post-secondary interns every 4 months.
- Post-secondary students and recent graduates can contact govlab@altaml.com to express interest in participating.
- Government staff can contact govlabhelp@gov.ab.ca to express interest in participating.
Concepts and ideas
GovLab.ai evaluates a proof-of-concept idea according to an agile methodology that includes:
- Feasibility screening: assessment of potential projects to determine whether viable, if supporting data is adequate and projects meaningfully support program delivery.
- Development: creation and testing of models to deliver proof of concepts, scaling to a production solution.
- Operationalization: implementation of models into to full-service state.
Ideas go through this process every 4 months, though not all of them will be considered viable as proofs of concept.
Government teams can submit an idea for consideration by contacting govlabhelp@gov.ab.ca.
Learn more about case studies currently in development.
Resources
Many governments have begun adopting AI and ML, including:
- Canada's responsible use of AI initiative
- United States’ National Artificial Intelligence Initiative
- United Kingdom’s Office for Artificial Intelligence
- Estonia’s National AI Strategy
- European Union’s Strategy on AI
A dashboard by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development provides insight into more than 700 AI policy initiatives from more than 60 countries.
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity have all issued information related to AI’s impacts on cybersecurity.
Contact
Connect with GovLab.ai:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Email: govlabhelp@gov.ab.ca
AltaML email: govlab@altaml.com
Address:
10130 103 St NW Suite 2200
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N9