Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World

This past June, we released “Degrees of Freedom,” an episode that explored how human dexterity is the holy grail of roboticists. In that discussion, we spoke to Jason Millar, a professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in the ethical engineering of robotics and artificial intelligence. Millar’s conversation with host Manjula Selvarajah and producer Ellen Payne Smith was so compelling and wide-ranging — it touched on everything from AI safety to the uncanny delight of robot fails — that we’re sharing more of it in this special bonus episode. Who’s your favourite robot? Tell us at [email protected] in this episode:Jason Millar is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Engineering Design and Teaching Innovation, Faculty of Engineering. He is also Canada Research Chair in ethical engineering of artificial intelligence and robotics and director of the Canadian Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Ethical Design Lab (CRAiEDL).Further reading:Meet the professor who’s helping write the rule book on the ethics of AIWe have failed our first collective AI safety challengeHow humanlike do we really want robots to be?The robots are winning us over by falling on their facesThe 100 best movie robots of all time  Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Canada has always run on water. In the 19th-century, thousands of communities developed around the textile, grist and saw mills that harnessed water power from rivers. Today, hydro generates about 60 percent of the country’s electricity. But as demand strains the grid more with each passing year, could the dams that once served those now-dormant mills provide a new source of power? That’s the vision of Andrew Murray and his startup, Aslan Renewables. During COVID lockdowns, Murray went on long walks with his father throughout rural P.E.I., where his father pointed out the untapped potential of the dams they passed. Murray seized on the idea and developed a compact, modular turbine system that used the elevation of these dams to generate reliable, clean energy. In this episode, Murray discusses our current energy crisis, why small-scale local power generation is so vital and how he’s transforming timeworn infrastructure into a technology of the future. Featured in this episode:Andrew Murray is the founder and CEO of Aslan Renewables. He was previously co-owner of the Shelby Water Group, a ship chandlery and logistics company, and CEO of Broadside9, a global customer acquisition agency. In 2025, Aslan was recognized as a leader in energy-transition innovation at the Climate Impact Innovation Challenge in Singapore.Further reading:P.E.I. power customers could see rotating outages to prevent total blackouts this winterBlackout: Canada’s impending electricity crisis and how to fix itMilling through historyWhat if thousands of unused dams in Canada could generate power again?Could Trump risk century-old Canada-U.S. electricity system? Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Recent advances in AI have fundamentally changed how we predict the weather, making forecasting cheaper, faster and better — we can now track even the most unusual weather event with almost pinpoint accuracy. Such accuracy has never been more urgent. With climate change making weather more extreme, unpredictable and dangerous, knowing how much rain a storm may bring, or how long a drought could last, can be a matter of life and death. In this episode, we explore this quiet revolution in forecasting, why this knowledge must also drive policy change and, in the face of growing water shortages, how AI is helping us tap an unexpected new source. Featured in this episode: Pedram Hassanzadeh is an associate professor in the department of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and director of the AI for Climate Initiative at the Data Science Institute. Catherine Nakalembe is an assistant professor in the University of Maryland’s department of geographical sciences, founder of the Xylem Lab and the Africa program director for NASA Harvest. Tatiana Estevez is the founder and CEO of Permalution, a startup working on fog water collection technology and climate adaptation solutions.  Further reading: Forecasting the future: The role of artificial intelligence in transforming weather prediction and policy Designing probabilistic AI monsoon forecasts to inform agricultural decision-making AI can predict disaster, but it can’t save you Seeds of impact: Catherine Nakalembe’s trailblazing path Fight Canada’s water shortage with fog Permalution: transforming fog into water for climate adaptationThe end of the European summer  Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “The coming storm.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Episode summary: The head-spinning ascent of AI is a story of scientific innovation, but it’s also, fundamentally, a story about money. Between 2013 and 2024, AI netted about U.S.$1.6 trillion of global corporate and private investment; it’s estimated that by the end of this year that number will reach U.S.$2.5 trillion. How this massive investment is transforming — and will transform — the way we live and work is a matter of fierce debate and great uncertainty. One person at the centre of this technological and economic maelstrom is Pillar VC’s Leah Morris. She’s the executive director of Pillar’s Encode: AI for Science fellowship, which provides AI researchers the time, freedom and resources to build meaningful, game-changing solutions. In this bonus episode, she discusses how new technologies are exacerbating economic inequality, the enduring value of human judgment and how the AI investment landscape is too often, in her words, “bullshit in a bull ring.” Featured in this episode: Leah Morris is executive director of the Encode: AI for Science fellowship at Pillar VC. She was previously a senior director at Radical Ventures, where she oversaw the firm’s responsible AI strategy and managed research partnerships. Her background includes economic AI research at the University of Toronto and experience in global health and security with the United Nations and through nonprofit work in Jamaica and South Africa. Further reading: The next great divergence: Why AI may widen inequality between countries The man behind AlphaGo thinks AI is taking the wrong path How London became the rest of the world’s startup capital Universal basic income, the utopia idea resurging in Silicon Valley How AI is transforming scientific discovery while keeping humans at the centre Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Thanks largely to advances in AI, robots are now capable of things never before possible: picking delicate vegetables, moving heavy goods deftly around a warehouse, making pizzas. But there are still limitations to even the most sophisticated and expensive machines. Replicating human dexterity, for example, remains a surprisingly fiendish challenge. While some experts talk about an imminent “ChatGPT moment” for robotics — one that has the potential to completely transform society — it’s not quite clear when this moment will arrive, or what it will mean when it does. In this episode, we explore how new robot technology is reshaping society, the economy and our understanding of what it means to be human.  Featured in this episode: Stefan Glibetic is the founder and CEO of Mycionics, which builds robotic harvesting solutions for the global mushroom industry. Robert Brooks is the founder and CEO of ForceN, which manufactures joints, fingers, wrists and ankles for surgical, industrial and defence/aerospace robots. Tarek Rahim is the co-founder and CEO of Mirsee Robotics, which specializes in building humanoid robots for various commercial sectors. Nick Dechev is an associate professor in the faculty of engineering at the University of Victoria. He is also the founder of and chief technology officer at the Victoria Hand Project, a non-profit providing affordable prosthetic devices around the world. Jason Millar is an associate professor in the faculty of engineering at the University of Ottawa. He is also the Canada Research Chair in ethical engineering of artificial intelligence and robotics and director of the Canadian Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Ethical Design Lab (CRAiEDL). Further reading: New research suggests consistency, not complexity, is the key to teaching robots dexterity The $6 billion Chinese startup trying to build hands for every robot How physical AI is reshaping robotics today — and what comes next Ten ways humanoid robots are about to change everyday life Beyond bionics: How the future of prosthetics is redefining humanity Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Degrees of freedom.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

The housing crisis is fundamentally a health problem. Decades of research show that people experiencing homelessness spend twice as long in the hospital, cost the healthcare system double and have a life expectancy half that of the average Canadian. In this special episode of Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World, recorded live at a MaRS Morning event, host Manjula Selvarajah sits down with primary care physician Dr. Andrew Boozary to discuss a radical shift in Canadian medicine: treating housing not just as a social service, but as a critical medical intervention. As founding executive director of UHN’s Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, Boozary shares data-driven insights from his initiatives there: prescribing nutritious food boxes, the launch of Ontario’s first hospital-based homelessness and eviction program and, most famously, the establishment of Dunn House, a permanent supportive housing model that’s proven to be both effective and scalable. Together, Selvarajah and Boozary explore what it takes to dismantle bureaucratic sludge, cut through systematic fragmentation and build a healthcare system rooted in human dignity. Dr. Andrew Boozary is a primary care physician and the founding executive director of the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine at University of Health Network (UHN). At the forefront of health equity and public policy, his work focuses on integrating social determinants of health — such as housing, income and food security — directly into patient care. Boozary has spearheaded pioneering social medicine models including Toronto’s modular permanent supportive housing project, Dunn House, establishing crucial healthcare interventions that drastically improve health outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. In 2026, he received a Governor General’s Innovation Award for developing Dunn House. Further reading Dr. Andrew Boozary on expanding social medicine housing model Dunn HousePathologies of poverty: The need for housing Dunn House gave homeless ER patients a home and saved Toronto hospitals millions. Now they’re building another oneHow did social medicine evolve, and where is it heading? Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here.    Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

There are few neurodegenerative diseases as devastating as Huntington’s. It’s sometimes likened to having Parkinson’s, ALS and Alzheimer’s all at the same time, with symptoms that include progressive motor dysfunction, cognitive decline and behavioural change. It’s also hereditary — if a person has the faulty gene that causes the disease, there’s a 50 percent chance their children will have it, too. In the fall of 2025, however, scientists announced that, for the first time, they could reduce the progression of Huntington symptoms using a new gene therapy. While that clinical breakthrough came with several caveats, it also heralded a possible new paradigm for drug discovery. In this episode, we explore how this innovative therapy works and what it could mean for the treatment of other rare diseases.  Featured in this episode: Rachel Harding is an assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Toronto and a principal investigator at the Structural Genomics Consortium. Her work on Huntington’s disease has been recognized with major early-career awards, highlighting both scientific excellence and the potential patient impact of her research program. Further reading: Research is unravelling the mystery of what causes Huntington’s disease, a devastating brain disease In a first, a gene therapy seems to slow Huntington disease “Best news” for Huntington’s disease community comes with unanswered questions The Huntington’s disease research pipeline World’s first patient treated with personalized CRISPR gene editing therapy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been allowing humans to control objects with their minds for nearly half a century. But in recent years, thanks partly to advances in AI, the technology has evolved dramatically; wearable and implantable devices are now being used to restore speech and movement to stroke survivors, alleviate depression and treat pain. While companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink grab headlines, a somewhat quieter revolution is happening in Canada, where researchers are using BCI to help a historically underserved population: disabled children. In this episode, we explore BCI’s potential to transform medicine, the knotty ethical questions at its core and how the tech might just bring us closer together. Featured in this episode: Dr. Adam Kirton is a professor of pediatrics, radiology and clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary, where he’s also the director of the BCI4Kids program. He is also the director of the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program and is a practicing pediatric neurologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. He co-founded, and is the CMO, of Possibility Neurotechnologies Anne Vanhoestenberghe is a professor of active implantable medical devices at King’s College London and director of MAISi, a facility for the manufacture of active implants and surgical instruments, housed at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, England. Dion Kelly is a clinical neuroscientist and the co-founder and CEO of Possibility Technologies. Dion and Adam launched the company in 2022 to commercialize their brain-controlled technology, which transforms thoughts into actions.  Stephanie Sonnenberg and her daughter, Claire, live outside of Calgary, Alberta. Claire was one of the first users of Possibility Technologies’ BCI device, Think2Switch. Further reading: The past, present and future of brain-computer interfaces We’ve been connecting brains to computers longer than you’d expect. These three companies are leading the way Adam Kirton’s Lindenlauer lecture, Columbia University, November, 2024 Altman’s Merge raises $252 million to link brains and computers What it’s like to have a brain implant for five years Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

The fashion industry has its fair share of dirty secrets, but one of the lesser-known is how much it pollutes our waterways. Every year, garment factories use as much as 2 trillion gallons of water to dye clothes, and most of that water, now filled with harmful chemicals, flows untreated into rivers, streams and lakes. Those pollutants can turn rivers black, harm marine life and cause cancer. Macarena Cataldo, a chemical engineer based in Vancouver, has come up with an ingenious way to remove these contaminants before they even reach the water. In this episode, Cataldo talks to Manjula Selvarajah about the global water crisis, how her technology works and efforts to get major fashion brands to change their ways. Featured in this episode:  Macarena Cataldo is the CEO and CTO of Viridis Research, which she co-founded in 2019 to solve various global water challenges by eliminating pollutants from water sources. She has a PhD in chemical engineering, and has spent more than 15 years applying electrochemistry to drinking and wastewater treatment working with the European Space Agency, the Metropolitan Water Company of Turin and others. Further reading: Asian rivers are turning black. And our colourful closets are to blame Why colouring clothes has a big environmental impact World enters era of “global water bankruptcy” Water crisis in Chile: Are we close to day zero?  Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Colour block.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

There’s no denying that technology plays — and will continue to play — a critical role in addressing the climate crisis. But could super-intelligent AI actually solve the problem for us, as several tech billionaires claim? Or is this over-reliance on speculative technology simply a way to distract us from tackling big, real-world problems. Manjula Selvarajah sits down with astrophysicist and author Adam Becker to separate the hype from reality. Featured in this episode: Adam Becker is an astrophysicist, journalist and the author of More Everything Forever, a book that examines the futuristic ideologies of Silicon Valley’s tech titans. He is a former science journalism fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and was also a science communicator in residence at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley.Marcius Extavour is a scientist, creative technologist and communicator who develops solutions for climate change and clean energy. As a partner at Ode, a technology and creative design firm specializing in geospatial AI. He previously built the energy, climate and carbon removal practice at XPRIZE.Further reading: Silicon Valley is at an inflection pointTech oligarchs are gambling our future on a fantasy Travelling to Mars and beating death: The futurist creed of tech’s apostles  More Everything Forever Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Infinity quest.” Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.