Topic: Empowering Climate Action in Every Language

This presentation introduces a powerful Multilingual Climate Chatbot, designed to bridge the gap in climate education for all Torontonians, especially youth and marginalized communities. Built on advanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture, this chatbot uses fine-tuned embedding models and hybrid search to cut through the disjointed, jargon-heavy climate information that currently limits engagement and creates barriers.

Speakers:

Helena Yu is a dedicated data and AI expert with over five years of experience leading cross-functional teams to create impactful AI/ML solutions across diverse industries, including technology, finance, insurance, retail, telecommunications, and the nonprofit sector. She excels at building strategic partnerships with academic institutions, technology companies, governments, and nonprofit organizations, bringing cutting-edge research into practical, real-world applications.

Luis Ticas is a seasoned analytics professor and consultant with a passion for generative AI, specializing in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems and multilingual chatbots. He holds a Master’s degree and a certification as a Generative AI Engineer from Databricks, with a track record of successful projects in climate resilience, data analytics, and AI-powered solutions.

Maryam Tavakoli is a Senior Data Scientist, ML/AI Engineer, with a PhD in Physics.

Agenda:

• 7:00-7:20 = Welcome and Introductions

• 7:20-7:50 = Presentation and Q&A/discussion

• 7:50-9:00 = Breakout groups

Code of Conduct:

• http://civictech.ca/about-us

Check in with us on the Civic Tech Toronto Slack:

• https://link.civictech.ca/chat

About Us:

• Our weekly civic tech hacknights bring together Torontonians (designers, coders, urban planners, government staff, mappers, policy-makers, students, communications strategists, community organizers, and more) who share an interest in making Toronto more responsive, prosperous, sustainable, and equitable through design, tech, and data. Come and be part of it!

For more info:

• http://civictech.ca