Approximately Correct: An AI Podcast from Amii

In just five years, Upper Bound has grown from a 400-person birthday party to one of Canada’s largest AI-centred events, drawing in thousands of people each year. But it isn’t the only thing that has changed: the way we talk about and use machine learning is also completely different in 2026.On the latest episode of Approximately Correct, Stephanie Enders joins to discuss how the conversation around AI has shifted in recent years.

Class is back in session: this month, we're catching up again with Jill Kowalchuk to talk about the monumental shifts in AI and education over the past couple years.As Amii's Manager of AI Literacy, Jill has seen the way that students and educators have dealt with the introduction of AI in the classroom, both the opportunities and the pitfalls. She talks with hosts Alona Fyshe and Scott Lilwall about how AI means we need to rethink the way we evaluate learning, and how she sees AI as less than a tool and more of a "thought partner."

Ever wonder what exactly plants get up to all day? It’s much more than just sitting around to soak up the sun. Now, machine learning is helping to unlock the mysteries of how plants change over the course of a day, and the impact it could have on how we grow our food. Biochemist Dr. Glen Uhrig joins hosts Alona Fyshe and Scott Lilwall to talk about how his lab is using machine learning to study how plants grow in different lighting conditions of the course of the day. This could lead to applications with big impacts for indoor farming in northern climates, and perhaps even feeding astronauts during space missions. Listen to discover the potential that artificial intelligence has in advancing scientific research in biochemistry, agriculture, and other fields.

Is AI this year's MVP? How is machine learning changing sports?On this episode of Approximately Correct, we talk with Chicago Blackhawks' David Radke about how machine learning is transforming the analysis of sports like hockey.

In the latest episode of Approximately Correct, we’re taking the time to celebrate with Amii Fellow, Chief Scientific Advisor, and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Rich Sutton, newly-minted winner of the A.M. Turing Award, a prize that is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science.”

AI-powered prosthetics are changing lives, but it takes more than just technology. In this episode, Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair is here to talk about the work going on in his lab designing AI controls for bionic limbs and explains the unique partnership between researchers and users that's creating AI learning that is made with humans in mind. Approximately Correct: An AI Podcast from Amii is hosted by Alona Fyshe and Scott Lilwall. It is produced by Lynda Vang, with video production by Chris Onciul.

In this episode, reinforcement learning legend Rich Sutton argues the focus on non-continual learning over the past 40 years is now holding AI back. Listen to one of the leading minds in machine learning explain what needs to change. Approximately Correct: An AI Podcast from Amii is hosted by Alona Fyshe and Scott Lilwall, produced by Lynda Vang, with video production by Chris Onciul

Reinforcement learning is being used to make water treatment more efficient. On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Martha White to talk about co-founding RL Core Technologies, which is exploring how RL can be used in to increase efficiency in water treatment plants and other industrial control systems. Find out more about how AI is being used in the real world and its potential large-scale impact.

Medicine is built on data. Clinical studies, patient charts, test results, X-rays - data helps diagnose us when we’re unhealthy and understand how to treat us. Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Ross Mitchell explores how machine learning can use this data, pulling out insights to help medical professionals work better and provide better patient outcomes. In this Sidebar episode, we present a conversation between Mitchell and machine learning scientist Jubair Sheik about AI's massive potential in medicine and the increasing accuracy of medical AI models. Production Credits: Lynda Vang, - Producer, Chris Onciul - Video Production, Music Credits: Main Theme - Brooklyn Bridge by Lunareh

Dialogues have been a way of exploring complex philosophical and moral questions since the time of Plato. And now, they might offer new ways of exploring intelligence in the age of powerful large language models. Amii Fellow and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Geoffrey Rockwell joins hosts Alona Fyshe and Scott Lilwall to talk about where philosophy and artificial intelligence intersect, and how learning more about non-human intelligence can teach us more about ourselves. Production Credits: Lynda Vang - Producer, Chris Onciul - Video Production, Music Credits: Main Theme - Brooklyn Bridge by Lunareh

At the end of May, thousands of AI researchers, enthusiasts and industry leaders will meet in Edmonton for Amii’s annual Upper Bound conference. It’s an event built on collaboration and sharing the latest in artificial intelligence. In this episode, Scott talks to Amii CEO Cam Linke and Amii’s Director of Academic Relations Rosa Ellithorpe about why openness is an important part of the field and how AI is pushing exciting advancements in many parts of society. Upper Bound 2024 is on May 21-24, 2024. You can learn more about how to be a part of it at https://www.upperbound.ai Production Credits: Lynda Vang, - Producer, Chris Onciul - Video Production, Jen Tomski - Social Media Music Credits: Main Theme - Brooklyn Bridge by Lunareh

We’re gearing up for Amii’s world-class Upper Bound AI conference at the end of May, and we wanted to share one of last year’s most popular sessions. Enjoy this taste of AI researcher Finbarr Timbers’ fantastic talk on the origins of ChatGPT, how it has evolved and the huge impact when it was released at the end of 2022. You can see Finbarr’s full presentation here. He’ll be back again for another riveting session at Upper Bound 2024 (May 21-24), and we've got an entire track dedicated to Generative AI this year!. You can learn more about how to be a part of it at https://www.upperbound.ai Production Credits: Lynda Vang, Keely Booth - Producer, Chris Onciul - Video Production, Jen Tomski - Social Media Music Credits: Main Theme - Brooklyn Bridge by Lunareh

In this Sidebar episode, we hear from Amii Fellow Xingyu Li about her work in using AI to highlight vital information in medical data. Xingyu shares insights into her work on visual anomaly detection and navigating the complexities of AI in healthcare while safeguarding patient privacy. She talks with Adam White, Amii’s Director of Scientific Operations about how to do more with scarce data, and the future of AI-driven medicine.