News
Using AI for Community Good
A team of BSS students earned national recognition for their artificial intelligence project at the Canada AI Youth Conference, hosted by the International Olympiad for Artificial Intelligence (IOAI).
The team (Grade 7 students Cynthia C, Kaitlyn H and Kayley X) was the only all-girls group to receive a gold medal among 54 projects and 93 participants from across the country. Mentored and organized by Grade 11 student Qianhao H, they presented their project at Toronto French School in May 2025.
Qianhao first learned about the competition through her role on the IOAI Canada Youth Council. “The competition invites students to tackle real-world issues with creativity and innovation to develop AI-based solutions,” she explained. “I thought this hands-on approach would inspire more students to explore AI, so I decided to organize a Junior AI Team at BSS.”
Their project, Snowy Bonds, is an AI-powered community platform that connects people in need of snow removal assistance with local volunteers. Designed to reduce health risks for seniors and individuals with heart conditions, the platform also fosters meaningful community connections. The team incorporated a range of AI technologies, including machine learning for weather prediction, computer vision for analyzing driveways, and natural language processing to enhance accessibility.
Looking ahead, the team plans to participate in additional national competitions and expand the Junior AI Team to include more Middle School students. Their next project, Smart Stop, will use AI to improve pedestrian safety through an intelligent stop sign system.
