Not many people think of Calgary or Edmonton as a tech hub, nor would they have reason to. In a job market dominated mostly by oil or the exploitation of other natural resources, tech seems to be the last thing on the minds of most local employers.

Is the lack of tech industry in Alberta due to an absence of interest or formally educated individuals? Surely not.

Over the last 18 years, the University of Alberta has ranked third in the world for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning research output, yet the market for these jobs ceases to exist locally. While a vast majority of graduates find work abroad, few remain to contribute to the growth of the local tech market.

Johnathan Schaeffer, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta has this to say regarding the current state of local employment for graduates.

“I have graduated 75 Masters and PhD students in my 33 years as a Professor at the University of Alberta. Less than half remain in Canada; few are employed in jobs that take advantage of their AI background. My colleagues have similar statistics. We train the best and the brightest only to watch them leave our country to enrich the rest of the world, or stay in Canada and likely work in a non-AI field of computing.” (Source)

Considering the University of Alberta ranking and Professor Schaeffers experience, the lack of local tech illustrates clearly how much of a missed opportunity not retaining this type of local talent can be. Now more than ever digital technology is steering the way we operate in the world, across every industry. Integrating new technology and having a local workforce who is educated in such technology can only help the local economy, not to mention create a hub for other skilled workers to travel to.

Similar to how the oil industry attracted workers from across the country, tech has the ability to do the same thing. Innovation in artificial intelligence and machine learning are only two of the many focused tech disciplines that are emerging into our present economy. Coupled with the innovations of blockchain technology this trifecta of tech is a massively powerful tool whose impact is unforetold.

As the natural progression of the digital economy further makes its way into our everyday lives it only makes sense to be looking at ideas and solutions locally. We don’t have to start at zero either, we already have one of the best educational assets in the world right on our doorstep.

While tech startups are somewhat of a rare breed in the Alberta job market, there is at least one company who has set their sights on using blockchain technology to disrupt the financial world.

Rublix is a blockchain development company who is bravely stepping out into the world of tech development without being located in Silicon Valley. The Calgary based company has their sights set on creating a trading platform called Hedge, which utilizes blockchain technology to allow valuable trading information to be shared with anyone who wants it. This information is created on what Rublix calls a blueprint, which is stored on the blockchain and sold to users wishing to have access to the information inside. If trading predictions are correct, the traders receive a cut of the money used to purchase the information. If the prediction is incorrect, the money returns to those who purchased it in the first place.

This trading platform is only one of the companies many ideas as they also work within the realm of blockchain research and development. While this technology is still the new kid on the block, there is still room for improvement, and Rublix aims to be the one to improve it.

Edmonton also has a small group of individuals looking to further develop the tech sector here in Alberta with a mission to create 100 artificial intelligence and machine learning companies can projects. This community driven group called Edmonton.AI would create companies and projects delivering goods and services which stem directly from the technology itself.

This community-driven group was created by three Edmonton entrepreneurs Bruce Alton, Aaryn Flynn and Cory Janssen, who after recognizing the incredible potential impact of this technology are taking the steps to further integrate this technology into our daily life.

By allowing space for local Albertans to develop ideas alongside these technologies jobs can be created, industries can grow, and profit can be made. As discussed in McKinsey & Company’s report Disruptive Technology the projected potential profit made by utilizing artificial intelligence alongside 12 key technologies could generate tens of billions of dollars by the year 2025.

That’s good news, especially if we can locally retain the individuals who are doing the work to create such profits. Alberta has the potential to be known not only as the wild west of oil, but also a potential giant in the tech world.