KPMG opens Calgary innovation lab featuring AI
by CM Staff
KPMG Ignition Calgary is one of the firm's three Ignition Centres across Canada that try and serve as innovation labs for clients to solve complex problems.
Kerry Harmer and Murray Suey at KPMG Ignition Calgary (CNW Group/KPMG LLP)
CALGARY — KPMG in Canada officially opened KPMG Ignition Calgary at the Platform Innovation Centre, creating a dedicated innovation lab to try and help clients solve complex problems.
To mark the opening, KPMG unveiled a specially commissioned piece of AI-informed artwork by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), one of Canada’s three centres of AI excellence, and local visual designer Natalia Resovsky. By using software algorithms that manipulate digital images in a technique known as Neural Style Transfer (NST), Amii took over 200 images blending ‘style’ from one onto the other. Ms. Resovsky then used those images to produce a wall-sized abstract interpretation of Calgary’s skyline that captures the vibrancy and growth of Calgary as one of the country’s leading AI and tech innovation hubs.
“This is more than a work of art. It is a representation and celebration of the province’s thriving culture of technology, entrepreneurialism, and innovation,” says Murray Suey, KPMG’s Regional Managing Partner for Calgary. “It’s important that we continue to nurture and support the tech ecosystem and innovation. Innovation is what fuels the economy and makes it resilient. AI and machine learning already transform our way of life and work and is helping our clients transform the way they deliver services.”
KPMG Ignition Calgary is one of the firm’s three Ignition Centres across Canada that try and serve as innovation labs for clients to solve complex problems and harness technologies to improve their operations and overall customer service experience.
“KPMG Ignition Calgary is a key pillar of the experience at the Platform Innovation Centre – helping enterprise leaders collaborate and innovate,” says Terry Rock, President and CEO at Platform Calgary. “This visionary project will create more impactful collision for founders and start-ups and drive corporate innovation across the city.”
The Canadian KPMG Ignition centres – also in Vancouver and Toronto – feature workspaces and interactive demonstrations designed to facilitate information sharing, collaboration, and creativity.
