Web Summit Vancouver 2026

Challenge: Hospitals are under increasing pressure from long wait times, limited staff and resources, and the growing need for personalized medicine.

Example of a Local Solution: Fraser Health is advancing healthcare in BC by integrating applied AI across their services. Their Digital Patient and Provider Experience team uses predictive analytics and digital tools to enhance healthcare delivery. Key projects include a collaboration with Deloitte Canada to develop an AI-driven physician scheduling tool. They’re also reducing clinical administrative workloads using generative AI from Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and a Virtual AI Assistant in partnership with Amazon Web Services. Notably, the “GI Genius” system is improving colonoscopy accuracy through AI-assisted polyp detection, leading to improved patient outcomes.

Benefits: Reduced wait times, more accurate diagnoses, and better overall patient outcomes, allowing health authorities to provide high-quality care more efficiently.

Challenge: Conventional mining methods can be time-consuming, resource-heavy, and carry significant environmental impacts. More critical minerals are also needed to support the global energy transition.

Example of a Local Solution: Ideon Technologies applies cosmic-ray muon tomography and AI for subsurface imaging, detecting minerals and metals beneath the Earth, offering a sustainable and efficient exploration method. MineSense utilizes AI to differentiate ore from waste, combining hardware and software for real-time data analysis and improved mining decision-making. Hyperspectral Intelligence offers imaging technology for precise rock analysis in the mining and energy sectors, with cloud-based data processing for real-time insights.

Benefits: Reduced environmental footprint, lowered operational costs, and improved access to resources.

Example of a Local Solution: UBC researchers have already designed AI-controlled drones for inspection work and real-time onsite mapping. The drones can provide real time input to create a digital twin of the construction site. Using the digital twin, a separate AI system can safely control equipment, such as a crane, to autonomously unload and place large cement blocks. The same lab is working on autonomously controlled excavators and envisages moving on to equipment used throughout the building process.

Benefits: Increase housing supply and improve affordability through expedited construction time, lowered construction costs, and reduced labor requirements. These improvements can help fulfill both local and global housing demands.