From advanced computing to Nordic robotics, through generative AI and the connected forest, Université Laval and its Institute for Intelligence and Data (IID) are building an environment where research, infrastructure and collaborations are converging to meet the ambitions of Quebec and Canada.
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a speed that forces organizations to look beyond model performance. Where does data processing take place? What is the energy footprint of AI-related infrastructure? Do the technologies developed reflect the linguistic, cultural and economic realities here? And above all, how can scientific advances be transformed into solutions that are truly useful to society?
At Université Laval, these questions guide the development of an AI ecosystem based on responsibility, sovereignty, and energy efficiency. With the Institute for Intelligence and Data as its focal point, Université Laval brings together the expertise, infrastructure, and experimental fields needed to build an AI rooted in Quebec and Canadian realities.
This vision will be at the heart of the participation of Université Laval and the Institute for Intelligence and Data in ALL IN, as a partner of the event.
TamIA: A Strategic Infrastructure Designed for Research and Climate
The acceleration of AI relies on a strategic resource: computing capacity. By hosting TamIA, Université Laval directly contributes to increasing this capacity for the benefit of Canadian university research.
This compute cluster is one of the three components of the Pan-Canadian Computing Environment for Artificial Intelligence (ECPIA), alongside infrastructure located at the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta. It enables research teams to develop, train and optimize language and machine learning models, paving the way for cutting-edge work in fields as diverse as drug development, medical imaging, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, language, architecture and robotics.
However, the reach of TamIA is not only measured by its power. The facility’s energy-efficient design puts the heat generated by servers to use, helping heat the campus pavilions. This recovered energy corresponds to that needed to power about 140 homes. Thanks to this project, Université Laval not only allows Canada to solidify its position as a world leader in AI research, but also offers concrete leverage to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with it.
The IID: A Meeting Point Between Research and Real-World Needs
Infrastructure, as powerful as it may be, can only deliver results if it is part of an ecosystem that mobilizes the right expertise around concrete problems. This is precisely the role played by the Institute for Intelligence and Data at Université Laval.
The IID builds bridges between academia, industry and the public in order to advance knowledge, enhance data and accelerate a responsible adoption of AI. The Institute now brings together more than 100 research members from various disciplines, supported by a team of specialists in artificial intelligence and data valorization.
This diversity of expertise is at the heart of IID’s success. The issues related to artificial intelligence are never exclusively technological: they also affect ethics, governance, skills, business models, and social acceptability. By mobilizing multidisciplinary teams to address these perspectives, the IID helps its partners build structured, relevant and context-specific AI initiatives.
The IID’s initiatives cover the entire innovation chain: major research projects, collaborations with organizations, access to cutting-edge infrastructure, training of the next generation and dissemination of knowledge. The goal is not only to produce new knowledge, but also to create the conditions for it to circulate, be tested and generate lasting benefits.
Generative AI Center of Expertise: A Strategic Hub for Digital Sovereignty
Digital sovereignty also relies on our ability to evaluate and adapt generative AI technologies, rather than simply adopting models designed elsewhere.
The generative AI center of expertise project at Université Laval addresses this need. Drawing on the complementary expertise of players such as Mila, IVADO and IID, this strategic hub aims to assess, refine and integrate generative AI models according to Québec’s specific needs.
The centre will help structure Québec’s ecosystem, share best practices and support the province’s digital sovereignty. It will also address two important issues: the fragmentation of information and the lack of objective, independent assessments of available technologies.
Its work will be structured around four objectives:
- Evaluate recent generative AI technologies to better adapt them to languages less well represented in digital data, notably Quebec French.
- Develop the ability to specialize models according to dialects, sectors of activity and tasks specific to Quebec.
- Support institutions, companies and the government in adopting these tools and developing the skills needed to use them.
- Stimulate research and innovation to design and deploy AI solutions aligned with the realities and needs of Québec.
This approach gives a very concrete pathway to AI sovereignty. It is not a matter of isolating oneself from global advances, but of giving oneself the means to understand them, evaluate them and adapt them, while maintaining a capacity for decision-making on technologies that shape services, organizations and culture.
Open-Air Laboratories: AI Across Canada
At the Laboratoire de robotique boréale, Norlab, the teams develop mobile and autonomous systems capable of operating in northern and harsh environments. Their work focuses in particular on localization using laser sensors, or lidar, and on the 3D reconstruction of environments.
This research confronts AI with real conditions: snow, light variations, irregular terrain and environments where the usual landmarks can disappear. By pushing the boundaries of autonomous navigation in these contexts, Norlab contributes to the development of technologies better suited to the Canadian territory and to sectors such as natural resources, inspection and operations in remote areas.
A few dozen kilometres from the campus, Montmorency Forest offers exceptional land. The world’s largest university forest for research and teaching, it acts as a connected forest where AI and data science can support the observation of ecosystems, understanding their transformations, and developing better-informed forestry practices.
The Norlab and the Montmorency Forest illustrate a unique strength: the ability to bring together cutting-edge research, field data, and experimentation in environments that reflect northern realities. This is where AI leaves the laboratory to demonstrate its robustness, relevance, and potential impact.
Building Collective Capacity in AI
At Université Laval, responsibility, sovereignty and energy efficiency do not take the form of three separate commitments. They comprise the same vision for an AI developed with the necessary infrastructure, expertise, and collaborations to serve collective needs in a sustainable manner.
With TamIA, Canada gains strategic computing capacity. With the IID, organizations have a gateway to a multidisciplinary network capable of transforming their issues into projects. With the generative AI center of expertise, Norlab and Montmorency Forest, technologies can be evaluated, adapted and tested in contexts that matter to Quebec and the country.
So the real strength of this cluster is not a single infrastructure or team. It is located in the continuity between calculation, research, training, experimentation and transfer to organizations. An essential continuity to make AI not only a driver of innovation, but also a collective, responsible and sustainable capacity.
To discover the Institute for Intelligence and Data at Université Laval and explore collaboration opportunities: web.iid.ulaval.ca
ALL IN 2026: Meeting the IID and Université Laval
At ALL IN 2026, Université Laval and the Institute for Intelligence and Data (IID) will promote the vision of responsible, sovereign, and energy-efficient AI, notably with a speech on the AI Sessions stage, as part of a session that will be unveiled in the official program of the event.
Throughout the event, their teams will also be present at their booth to present their work, expertise and initiatives, and showcase the advances that are helping to build the future of AI in Quebec and Canada.
