Can Montreal's new research hub humanize artificial intelligence?

Valérie Pisano sips a cappuccino in Montreal's Caffè Italia, an unassuming gem in the heart of the city's Little Italy, and a place that she has known since she was a child. "Coming here is all about history and stability," said the newly appointed president and chief executive of Mila (formerly the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms), the Quebec epicentre of Canada's artificial-intelligence revolution. With a soccer match on the TV screen above and the steamy blasts of an espresso machine punctuating her words, Ms. Pisano spoke about the need to stay connected to the past while leading an organization that is literally inventing the future. "What we're trying to create is completely new, completely emergent… And as society quickly pivots to this new era, we need to ask, how do we anchor ourselves in the roots of who we are and what we stand for as humanity?" The future Ms. Pisano sees emerging is just around the corner – not just figuratively, but literally.