RBC invests in research into AI and machine learning in financial services

The bank’s research arm will be opening a new lab in Edmonton as part of an initiative to work with the UofA’s Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute

By: James Langton
January 18, 2017 December 5, 2019
13:15

Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) research arm announced on Wednesday that it’s launching a new partnership in Alberta as part of its efforts to explore the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in financial services.

RBC Research plans to open a new lab in Edmonton as part of an initiative to work with the University of Alberta’s (UofA) Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) on research into AI and machine learning. Amii, which is based in the UofA’s computer science department, conducts research on machine intelligence, and is funded by the provincial government in Alberta.

“We believe AI has the potential to bring about major improvements in areas such as client service, fraud prevention and risk management; advancements that will have far-reaching benefits in financial services and beyond,” says Gabriel Woo, vice president of innovation with RBC, in a statement. “Partnering with a leading institution like the University of Alberta is an important step forward as we continue to explore this emerging technology.”

At the same time, RBC Research also tapped UofA computer science professor Richard Sutton as head academic advisor in machine learning at the research unit.

“The collaboration between RBC Research and Amii will help support the development of an AI ecosystem in Canada that will push the boundaries of academic knowledge,” says Sutton, in a statement. “With RBC’s continued support, we will cultivate the next generation of computer scientists who will develop innovative solutions to the toughest challenges facing Canada and beyond. We’ve only scratched the surface of what reinforcement learning can do in finance and are excited to unleash even greater possibilities with this collaboration between RBC Research and Amii.”

RBC Research will also collaborate with the UofA to provide opportunities such as internships, academic collaborations and exchanges with the bank’s Toronto-based research team to computer science students and researchers.

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