New program to help Canada’s plant-based sector prepare to utilize artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools and technology have the potential to make Canada’s plant-based sector more efficient and more sustainable. To fully harness this potential, however, companies across the sector need to fully understand what goes into an effective AI solution—including effective data pools, and how best to gather and utilize them.

To help companies across Canada’s plant-based sector prepare to utilize AI in their work, Protein Industries Canada is partnering with Amii (the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) to host the Data Readiness Improvement Program (DRIP). Launching this summer, the program is intended to help companies better understand the state of their data and how they can better prepare to adopt AI.

“There’s an opportunity for artificial intelligence to help Canada’s plant-based companies reach the sector’s sustainability and economic goals, and the best way they can do that is to ensure they have the proper tools, skills and talent in place to properly utilize such technology,” said Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel. “Our new Data Readiness Improvement Program can help them foster those skills within their current employees while preparing to bring a new, valuable technology into their workflow.”

To allow for ease of access and flexible learning opportunities, DRIP will be held as two virtual, three-month training and foundation-building cohorts of approximately five companies. Each company is invited to send up to five representatives, all of whom will receive increased knowledge of AI and machine learning specific to Canada’s plant-based food, feed and ingredients sector.

The DRIP curriculum will build on this foundational training to identify each company’s specific business problem and how artificial intelligence can help solve it, then deliver a validated project report with established trajectories for solving participants’ specific business problems. These reports and their solutions are intended to help form the basis of future Protein Industries Canada Artificial Intelligence Program expressions of interest.

“Artificial intelligence is one of the most important tools of our time,” said Cam Linke, CEO of Amii. “Amii has a proven track record working in agriculture. This partnership is an exciting opportunity to work with Protein Industries Canada to offer our world-leading expertise at the intersection of agriculture and machine learning to plant-based companies nationwide. Participants will learn how AI can help them gain better understanding of their data, improve productivity, optimize production, and empower their teams with in-demand AI literacy skills and tools — giving companies a leading edge in a rapidly growing and competitive sector.”

DRIP is currently open to enrolment, with the first cohort launching in autumn 2023. For more information, click the below button.