Facebook to open artificial intelligence lab in Montreal
In the future, Facebook wants to replace clicking buttons and tapping on screens with natural conversations.
The idea, according to Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s chief technology officer, is users could ask Facebook for an update on a family member, the news or even to suggest a friend they haven’t seen in while they might want to catch up with.
“I think of it as a full-time, 24/7 personal assistant that helps me stay connected with all the things I care about in the world,” Schroepfer said. “That is beyond the reach of current technology.”
Now, a Montreal-based team will be working to help make the technology a reality.
On Friday, the social networking giant officially announced the opening of an artificial intelligence research lab in the city.
The lab is headed by Joëlle Pineau, a McGill University professor who specializes in a field of artificial intelligence called reinforcement learning.
It’s “a field where we develop mathematical models, algorithms, designed to shape the behaviours of robots and machines according to our goals,” she said.
Her past work includes the development of an intelligent wheelchair and “conversational agents” — computer programs that can converse with humans using natural language.
That work with conversational agents is particularly interesting to Facebook, Schroepfer said.
This is Facebook’s fourth AI research lab, after Menlo Park, Calif., New York and Paris. It’s the first time the company has invested in artificial intelligence research in Canada.
The lab is expected to employ 10 researchers by the end of the month, and grow to 30 people within a year. The company said it eventually plans to invest more than $7 million in the lab.
Schroepfer said Facebook was attracted to the city’s AI “ecosystem” — the network of universities and companies already established in the area, along with government support for AI research in general — and the fact some of the world’s leading AI researchers are already here.
“Montreal has developed a reputation in AI,” he said.
The new lab is being formed in partnership with the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms at Université de Montréal and McGill University.
Pineau will keep her post at the university, splitting her time between the two.
She said she was attracted to Facebook because of its open approach to AI research.
“I get to keep the opportunity to publish papers, release code, talk freely about my research with anyone who wants to hear about it,” Pineau said.
Pineau said she hopes the lab will help encourage AI researchers who, in the past, would have gone to the United States to pursue their careers to stay in Canada.
“For many years, I have seen a steady stream of talented AI researchers … leaving the country,” Pineau said. “It’s really exciting for me to think that some of them will stay with us in the longer term and maybe some of those that have moved away will return over the next few months and years.”
While government support for AI research helped attract Facebook to Montreal, the company didn’t receive any specific incentives, but Dominique Anglade, Quebec’s minister of Economy, Science and Innovation said targeted incentives will continue to play a role in attracting private investment to the province.
“I think it’s a combination,” Anglande said. “When you look at the incentives that there are in the rest of the world, we need to be fairly aggressive, because other jurisdictions are very aggressive … the message that was sent today is very clear, the ecosystem that we’re building is very attractive and Facebook is looking at not only the talent but also the commitment from the government in terms of science, in terms of innovation.”