Montreal to integrate AI through opening of downtown lab, help with construction sites

The City of Montreal will be integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into construction sites through its opening of the Downtown Laboratory — an innovation zone that will be located in the Ville-Marie borough, bounded by Saint-Laurent boulevard and Sherbrooke, Guy, and de la Commune streets.

The AI hub plans to use different methods of urban innovation and test solutions to reduce the impact of construction work on residents, businesses and motorists.

“We really need to have a good problem statement and really define the scope so it’s not too large and we’re not trying to do everything at once,” said Alexandre Teodoresco, city councillor of the Loyola district in NDG and executive committee member responsible for AI, innovation and performance.

The announcement on Thursday comes as part of Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s campaign promise to commit to 10 actions in the first 100 days of its mandate. 

“How can we make sure that the tool that we’re using today, which is AI, will be at service with humanity and not the way around,” asked Martinez Ferrada.

Through developing prototypes and testing concrete solutions, the Downtown Laboratory will aim to address some of the various urban challenges faced by Montrealers, particularly in areas of mobility and construction site management. 

The City announced four main priorities for construction sites: integrating planning and simulations, improving accessibility and safety, implementing real-time monitoring, as well as site design.

Montreal is currently planning to implement digital twins –  a virtual replica of a physical object or system – to achieve such objectives. The city also wants to gain insight from small and medium-sized businesses.

When asked how AI can potentially alleviate potholes, the mayor told reporters to think of when Montrealers dial 311 – the official phone line to report potholes to the city.

“A citizen calls 311 and says ‘we have a pot hole, I got my car into this street in front of this address.’ Somebody else calls and says ‘I saw the same pothole but it’s in front of this address.’ AI could actually help you to synchronize all that information and give you a “cartographie” – a map of all the potholes we have in the city. We don’t have that right now,” Martinez Ferrada said.

Montreal will be working alongside its advisory committee on AI, which is composed of leaders from areas of technology, research, and public policy.