91亚色 Biology Professor Kohitij Kar, in the Faculty of Science, will host the recipient of a prestigious (MSCA) Postdoctoral Global Fellowship in his lab for two years starting this November to advance cutting-edge work in artificial intelligence and visual tracking.  

The recipient, from the University of Udine in Italy, received a fellowship valued at C$340,000 from MSCA, which empowers researchers wishing to carry out their work abroad.

Dunnhofer is an award-winning researcher at the Machine Learning & Perception Lab in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, & Physics of the University of Udine.

His fellowship project, titled 鈥淭owards primate-like artificial neural networks for visual object tracking,鈥� will focus on studying algorithms at the intersection of artificial intelligence and neuroscience in the field of visual object tracking. Visual object tracking is the use of algorithms in continuously recognizing objects, such as people and vehicles, and has applications in fields like autonomous driving, robotics and medicine.

The project will draw on Kar鈥檚 expertise as a Canada Research Chair in Visual Neuroscience and his experience leading the Visual Intelligence & Technological Advances Laboratory, which is a core part of the Vision: Science to Technology Application Program, the Centre for Integrative & Applied Neuroscience, and the Centre for Vision Research at 91亚色. His research lies at the intersection of neurophysiological investigations of visual intelligence in non-human primates and artificial intelligence systems. He is using his findings to develop artificial intelligence systems that mimic the primate brain in hopes of developing treatment strategies for neurological disorders.

As typically encouraged by the Marie Curie fellowships, Dunnhofer will augment his expertise in computer vision with Kar鈥檚 lab鈥檚 expertise in studying computations within biological vision systems like non-human primates.

For more information about the fellowship program, visit the .

The post 91亚色 professor hosts recipient of prestigious Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Global Fellowship appeared first on 91亚色.

After more than a decade in the legal innovation field, Al Hounsell, an adjunct professor at 91亚色鈥檚 Osgoode Hall Law School, is no stranger to technology hype cycles 鈥� that is, the maturity, adoption and social application of emerging technologies.

His hiring at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, where he is currently director of strategic innovation and legal design, coincided with the first wave of artificial intelligence (AI) products to hit the legal market.

鈥淚 went through that initial cycle of AI excitement and disillusionment,鈥� Hounsell says of that time, when some in the legal profession wondered what impact the technology would have on the profession. 鈥淚 was able to witness everyone screaming that the sky was falling, and that AI was going to take all of our jobs. But once people actually started using these tools, very quickly they realized that AI 鈥� as it existed then 鈥� was nowhere remotely close to doing anything that could capture the full value of what a lawyer could provide, in basically any area at all.鈥�

Next up were the metaverse and blockchain, both of which Hounsell remains largely skeptical of.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 really see the use case for either in terms of legal practice,鈥� he says.

Right now, the legal profession 鈥� like much of the rest of the world 鈥� is in the middle of a fresh wave of excitement around generative AI. But this time, something feels different to Hounsell.

鈥淚t is not the same as the older version of AI and it鈥檚 definitely going to significantly impact what lawyers do,鈥� he says.

Still, Hounsell is betting on the resilience that the legal profession has demonstrated time and time again in the past couple of centuries.

鈥淭he new technology can help us do the rote stuff: things that are highly structured and predictable,鈥� Hounsell explains. 鈥淭he legal industry is going to keep moving to the grey area, that ever expanding area of complexity and confusion where humans are needed to help their clients strategically mitigate their risk.鈥�

Hounsell will be sharing more of his insights on the topic at the Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD) second Annual Forum on Artificial Intelligence and the Law on Oct. 9 and 10. Following the success of last year鈥檚 event, the online conference will feature two full days of programming led by a variety of industry experts who will decode need-to-know technology and terminology while offering practical insights and strategies for compliance with the constantly evolving AI regulatory framework. An online replay will follow in November for those who are unable to attend live.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be getting into the nuts and bolts of what鈥檚 actually happening in generative AI,鈥� says Hounsell, 鈥渋ncluding what it鈥檚 good at and what it鈥檚 not good at, as well as why it is so good at certain tasks and why it will probably never be good at others.鈥�

Hounsell has established himself as a leader on the intersection of law and technology. Named Innovative Leader of the Year at the , he got his start in the legal profession after first making an impression in the web development field, founding several successful businesses before deciding to pivot to law via the Osgoode-Schulich Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration Program.

The alumnus renewed his relationship with Osgoode in 2022, taking up an offer to teach a class on technology and innovation in legal service delivery and then speaking at last year鈥檚 inaugural Forum on AI and the Law. This year, Hounsell is expecting key players from law firms, in-house legal departments and legal technology companies to be among the program's attendees.

鈥淔or big changes to occur in our industry,鈥� he says, 鈥渨hat we really need to see are people who are thinking strategically about this technology.鈥�

And this program, he hopes, will help make that happen.

For more information and to register, visit the .

The post Osgoode prof helps legal profession ride wave of AI excitement appeared first on 91亚色.

91亚色 neuroscientist Jeffrey Schall has been appointed a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Translating Neuroscience, alongside two renewals 鈥� Gillian Parekh and Joel Zylberberg 鈥� for existing CRCs, announced by the Government of Canada on June 14.

The CRC program is a major investment by the federal government (up to $300 million+ per year) to attract and retain world-class talent at Canadian universities. The program also provides training opportunities for the next generation of highly skilled personnel through research, teaching and learning.

The new and renewed CRCs at 91亚色 are:  

Jeffrey Schall is a newly appointed Tier I CRC in Translating Neuroscience and a professor in the Faculty of Science

Schall鈥檚 research aims to further understand the complexities of the brain and how it enables decision-making processes for actions and experiences: how people decide what to do, how people control when they do it and how people know if they did what they meant to do. Insights from Schall鈥檚 research could improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions like dementia and schizophrenia.  

Gillian Parekh is a renewed Tier II CRC in Disability Studies in Education and an associate professor in the Faculty of Education

Parekh is examining how schools respond to disability in order to improve student success. She and her research team are gathering and analyzing new data to develop strategies that will shed light on how 鈥渁bility鈥� is used to justify student organization within schools and the inequitable distribution of in-school resources and opportunities.

Joel Zylberberg is a renewed Tier II CRC in Computational Neuroscience and an associate professor in the Faculty of Science

Zylberberg and his research team train artificial intelligence (AI) to see and respond to images in the same way as the human brain. By teaching AI to process visual information like the brain鈥檚 visual cortex, deep learning algorithms could lead to the creation of devices that help visually impaired or blind people see again, in addition to potentially advancing technology for self-driving cars. 

91亚色鈥檚 Chairholders received $2,400,000 and are part of a $94,500,000 investment in 121 new and renewed CRCs at 39 institutions across Canada. For the full list, visit the .

The post New, renewed Canada Research Chairs advance neuroscience, disability studies at 91亚色 U appeared first on 91亚色.