Digital Policy Salon: The Meryl Streep of Mathematics and a DPS Podcast Launch

Nathan Snider, Khiran O'Neill, and Trevor Quan discuss the future of work and share some insights from the research behind the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)‘s recent study on the topic.

By Nathan Snider and Maryna Ivus

On June 10, 2021, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) in partnership with Tech Manitoba hosted the fourth community engagement session in a series of ongoing public consultations across Canada. These sessions, which fall under the umbrella of ICTC’s multi-year smart cities research initiative, are designed to engage with communities to help better understand the scope of challenges and opportunities unique to each region. The sessions encourage local residents to explore what “smart cities” technologies, and the industry more broadly, mean to them as local residents. Their participation provides insight into the ways new technologies can directly or indirectly influence their experience as Canadians. Specifically, their help provides an added level of depth and context to ongoing discussions designed to help shape innovative research.

The Winnipeg community engagement session, held virtually for residents on the traditional territory of the Anishinabe (Ojibway), Ininew (Cree), Oji-Cree, Dene, Dakota, and Métis Nations, was open to members of the general public and designed to attract a range of attendees. Thanks to the support provided by Tech Manitoba, participants from the public and not-for-profit sector, academia, industry, and the startup community were all present at the event, representing a diverse set of opinions on the region’s wellbeing.

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On October 13th, 3 pm - 4 pm EDT, ICTC invites you to join Maya Watson, Research & Policy Analyst at ICTC, and her esteemed subject matter experts for a virtual discussion on the state of Canada’s agricultural technology ecosystem and the sector’s current challenges and future opportunities.

Canada is a force for innovation when it comes to agricultural technologies, be it cucumber-picking robots to variable-rate mating disruption. In 2019, three of Canada’s agri-food tech startups made AgFunder’s top 20 list and the country had the 7th highest total dollar value for new investment deals. To keep Canada’s agtech sector competitive and sustainable, agricultural technology innovation must prioritize farmer input. But often farmers are not involved in the planning and research stages of agtech development. Initiatives such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s “Living Labs” help bridge the gap between research and implementation by testing emerging technologies “in the context and scale in which they will be adopted: on local farms under real agricultural production conditions.” Private-sector consultations with farmers and partnerships with local companies further support Canada’s unique agtech ecosystem.

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On October 14th, 1 pm - 2:30 pm ADT, Ignite, City of Fredericton, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) will be holding a public engagement session (via Zoom) to discuss the notion of a smart Fredericton. We want to hear from you, Fredericton residents!

Although ‘smart cities’ is a bit of a buzzword, the impact of smart technologies is widespread. They can impact citizen safety, time, convenience, health, and environmental quality. This consultation will ask, what smart city technologies can influence the way we live and work in Fredericton? Will smart developments change our experience of living in New Brunswick? What should be done to ensure smart city technologies remain inclusive and accessible?

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In the summer of 2010, while preparing for a long research trip to Madagascar, the mathematician Ingrid Daubechies bought a 50-inch flat-screen TV for her husband, so he could invite friends over to watch Premier League soccer games. After setting it up, the couple turned on a match, and while Daubechies’ husband, the mathematician and electrical engineer Robert Calderbank, became transfixed by the action, she got distracted. “Oh, wow!” she said. “They use wavelets!” 

Wavelets are versatile mathematical tools that can be thought of as a zoom lens, making it possible to spotlight the information that matters most in an image. The telltale signs of wavelets that Daubechies spotted were on the field, pixelating at larger scales, producing a fuzzy patchwork of green. “Look here,” she exclaimed. “You can see artifacts in the grass.” 

“Yes, yes,” Calderbank replied. “Who cares about the grass?” He just wanted to watch the game. 

Daubechies’ discovery of her self-named wavelet in 1987 was key to inventing the image-compression algorithms that “helped make our electronic world possible.” Similar to the focusing mechanism of human eyes or a zoom lens, wavelets equip computers with the means to present greater resolution (think pixels). Voice recognition, animation of “A Bug’s Life,” detecting electrocardiogram abnormalities, controversial Belgian fine art conservation, and evolutionary morphology are only a few of the myriad applications stemming from Daubechies’ mathematical discoveries. This article succeeds in turning a complex mathematical theory into a riveting read precisely because wavelet applications are as eclectic as Daubechies herself. When she became a baroness, for example, she paid homage to her love of mathematics by choosing “Divide ut comprimas,” or “Divide so you can compress” as a motto for her coat of arms. Often the “first woman to [insert accolade]” Daubechies carved a path for women in a field that is still male dominated, all while maintaining her spark. 

If you’re in the mood for an oddball biography starring ‘the Meryl Streep of mathematics’ with a dash of feminism, look no further. - Maya Watson