{"id":647,"date":"2026-03-21T13:55:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T17:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laeka.org\/blog\/archives\/647"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:50:57","slug":"laeka-research-nonprofit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laeka.org\/blog\/laeka-research-nonprofit\/","title":{"rendered":"Laeka Research: A Quebec Nonprofit Rethinking AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You might know Laeka Research without really knowing what we do. We&#8217;re a nonprofit working on AI, but not like the others. No venture capital screaming &#8220;exponential growth!&#8221;, not on Silicon Valley&#8217;s side. Just people who believe AI should serve Quebec communities, not the other way around.<\/p>\n<h2>Why a nonprofit for AI?<\/h2>\n<p>Good question. AI is dominated by American giants (OpenAI, Google, Meta). They build powerful tools, yes. But who thinks about Quebec&#8217;s needs? Who invests in French? Who wonders how AI can help a nonprofit in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res or an agricultural co-op in Beauce?<\/p>\n<p>Nobody. So we created it ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>The nonprofit structure isn&#8217;t just a legal label. It&#8217;s a promise: we&#8217;re not here to enrich investors. We&#8217;re here to generate <strong>public knowledge<\/strong>. Resources, training, tools you can use for free.<\/p>\n<h2>What do we actually do?<\/h2>\n<p>First, research. We study how AI affects Quebec. How does it impact employment? Culture? Regions? The most vulnerable? We publish our findings openly. It&#8217;s like science, but with AI.<\/p>\n<p>Then, education. We created <strong>Sherpa<\/strong>, a free, open platform in French that explains AI without the headache. No unnecessary jargon. Just: what is it, what&#8217;s it for, what are the risks?<\/p>\n<p>And then, we help organizations. A school, a nonprofit, a small business \u2014 we support them in using AI wisely. Not to replace people, but to do more with less.<\/p>\n<h2>Open source AI is our mission<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike the giants, we believe the best AI tools should be public, modifiable, adaptable. Imagine: an AI that speaks perfect Quebec French, that anyone can use without paying Microsoft or OpenAI? It&#8217;s possible. It&#8217;s even technically better. But it requires R&#038;D investment that the private market won&#8217;t make.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why we exist.<\/p>\n<h2>We need you<\/h2>\n<p>Laeka Research isn&#8217;t a corporation. It&#8217;s a community. The more people who think like you \u2014 that AI should serve Quebec \u2014 the more we can do. Whether you&#8217;re a developer, a teacher, a curious person, or someone who works at a nonprofit: you can help us.<\/p>\n<p>By using Sherpa. By contributing to our projects. By asking us your rawest questions about AI. Because your questions guide our research.<\/p>\n<p>Want to know more? Check out <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/laeka.org\/lab\/\">laeka.org\/lab\/<\/a><\/strong>. That&#8217;s where we share what we do, how we do it, and how you can get involved. And try <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sherpa.live\">Sherpa<\/a><\/strong> to understand AI in real Quebec terms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You might know Laeka Research without really knowing what we do. 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