Along with its partners, it is developing Wellbeing.ai, a platform where users can interact with virtual agents to better understand their physical and mental health. The supercluster focuses on the creation and development of made-in-Canada digital technology and is one of five such federally funded groups. (The Logic)

Talking point: The supercluster is partnering with Lululemon, Wysdom.AI, Microsoft, Mitacs and Queen’s University for the project. The platform will rely on technology from Richmond Hill, Ont.,-based Wysdom.AI, which uses machine learning tools to improve virtual agents’ services. Partners will test the agents late next year. Microsoft will lead development of a responsible AI ethical framework. Lululemon, which will provide data, tools and resources, will be the first commercial business to use the technology. Therapeutic chatbots already exist, though some question their effectiveness compared to human counsellors. “The main challenge with virtual wellbeing lies in collecting the data needed to build a digital brain that provides insights and can better understand individualized human interactions and interactions with our environment,” Wysdom.AI founder and president Jeff Brunet said in a release.