Mila – Quebec AI Institute (originally Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms) is a research institute in Montreal, Quebec, focusing mainly on machine learning research. Approximately 1000 students and researchers and 100 faculty members were part of Mila in 2022. Along with Alberta's Amii and Toronto's Vector Institute, Mila is part of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
Mila was founded in 1993 by Université de Montréal professor Yoshua Bengio, a Turing Award winner who is one of the founders of the field of deep learning and is the most-cited living scientist across all fields by total citations. The institute is both a research and educational institution, providing postdoc and internship positions and a research environment for students enrolled in their respective universities working towards graduate degrees such as PhD and Master's in machine learning.
History
Mila was originally named the Laboratoire d'informatique des systèmes adaptatifs (LISA). The institute also traces its history to the Reasoning and Learning Lab (RL-Lab) at McGill University, founded in 2001 and co-directed by Professors Prakash Panangaden, Doina Precup, Joëlle Pineau, and Jackie Chi Kit Cheung. In 2017, Mila was newly established as a partnership between the Université de Montréal and McGill University, along with École Polytechnique de Montréal and HEC Montréal.
In December 2020, Mila teamed up with IBM to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning research using open-source technology, integrating the Quebec institute's open-source software Oríon with IBM's Watson Machine Learning Accelerator, an AI model training and inference tool offered to businesses.
Notable researchers
Besides Bengio, Mila's faculty members include Joëlle Pineau and Doina Precup. Some of its graduates include Marc Bellemare (MSc 2007 – RL-Lab), Hugo Larochelle (PhD 2009 – LISA), and Ian Goodfellow (PhD 2014 – LISA). These researchers have contributed significantly to fields such as generative AI and neural networks.
Research activities
Research at Mila is largely, but not exclusively, focused on deep learning and reinforcement learning. Specific research topics include generative models, natural language processing, meta learning, computer vision, reinforcement learning, and applications of AI including climate change research and COVID-19 research. The institute also explores artificial general intelligence, superintelligence, AI alignment, AGI governance, and frontier models.
Mila members have contributed to open-source software. Theano, one of the early programming frameworks for deep learning, originated at Mila. In 2020, active projects included myia, a deep learning framework for Python, and baby-ai, a platform for simulating language learning with a human in the loop. Research often involves techniques like residual networks, batch normalization, and dropout for model training.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors oversees Mila's strategic directions. Members include Alexandre Le Bouthillier, General Partner at Linearis; Alexandre Synett; Anne-Marie Hubert, Managing Partner at Ernst & Young; Benoit Boulet, Associate Dean (Research & Innovation) at McGill University; Caroline Aubé, Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer at HEC Montreal; Eugénie Brouillet, Associate Dean (Research, Creation and Innovation) at Université Laval; Frédéric Bouchard, Dean Faculty of Arts and Science at Université de Montréal; Josée Morin, Company Administrator; Magaly Charbonneau, Hi-tech Venture Capitalist at Inovia Capital; Marie-Josée Hébert, Vice Rector, Research, Discovery, Creation and Innovation at Université de Montréal; Martha Crago, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation at McGill University; Mathieu Gervais, Observer and Assistant Deputy Minister for Science and Innovation at the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'innovation; Pierre Boivin, President of the Board of Directors and President and Chief Executive Officer at Claridge; Valerie Pisano, Observer and President and CEO of Mila; and Yoshua Bengio, Observer and Scientific Director of Mila and IVADO.
Other activities
Mila is involved in numerous partnerships with private companies, including collaborations with university researchers and industry leaders. Its location in Montreal positions it within a broader ecosystem of AI research in Canada, contributing to the country's strategic focus on developing AI talent and innovation. The institute's work spans from fundamental research in transformers and large language models to applied projects addressing societal challenges.
Mila also serves as a hub for training the next generation of AI researchers, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange. Its graduates have gone on to prominent positions in academia and industry, reflecting the institute's impact on the global AI landscape.