WHAT’S HAPPENING
Here’s what we’re thinking about, talking about, and working on at the Schwartz Reisman Institute.
Geoffrey Hinton awarded Sandford Fleming Medal
Geoffrey Hinton, University Professor Emeritus of computer science in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts & Science and co-laureate of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, has received the 2025 Sandford Fleming Medal.
SRI releases new white paper on trust in human–AI interaction
AI is everywhere. But can we trust it? A new SRI white paper led by Beth Coleman reframes trust in AI as a multidisciplinary challenge—not just a technical one—and charts a path forward.
SRI graduate fellows convene workshop on designing responsible AI futures
Organized by SRI’s 2025–26 graduate fellows, “Designing Responsible Futures” examined how AI can be shaped through operational safety, community participation, worker-led governance, and democratic principles.
Research led by Nicolas Papernot shows that AI worm could target any online device
A team of researchers at the University of Toronto, including SRI Faculty Affiliate Nicolas Papernot, has discovered a new class of cyberthreat that gives hackers more power and reach at far less cost. It can be built with free AI models.
Schwartz Reisman Institute announces 2026–27 graduate fellows
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society is pleased to announce its cohort of 2026–27 graduate fellows, bringing together fifteen exceptional U of T researchers exploring the societal implications of AI and emerging technologies.
Seeking alignment: What religion can teach us about the past and future of AI
As part of the programming for the Department for the Study of Religion’s 50th anniversary, SRI co-hosted an interdisplinary panel of scholars working in the study of religion, history of science, media theory, and computer science to consider how the religious pasts of AI shape the foretelling of its future.
Absolutely Interdisciplinary 2026 explores AI’s social, cognitive, and political dimensions
SRI’s annual conference explored how increasingly capable AI systems are reshaping public discourse, institutional trust, and the boundaries between technical systems and social life.
Can chatbots help close the youth voting knowledge gap?
Can AI-powered chatbots help young voters better understand politics? SRI Faculty Fellow Semra Sevi and her colleagues tested an interactive voting advice chatbot with nearly 2,900 politically unaffiliated voters under 35—and found significant gains in political knowledge, even if party loyalty remained unchanged.
The Mythos question: Who decides when AI is too dangerous?
Last week, Anthropic pulled back the curtain on Claude Mythos Preview, an AI model so capable at finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities that the company decided it was too dangerous to release to the public. In a new op-ed, SRI Director David Lie and Visiting Fellow Bruce Schneier discuss the implications.
Karen Hao explores power, accountability, and the future of AI
As part of the CBC Ideas series, the Schwartz Reisman Institute welcomed journalist Karen Hao to the University of Toronto to discuss the political economy of AI development, the need for stronger accountability, and the importance of building alternative, less resource-intensive approaches to AI systems.
Understanding the people behind the machines
In his new book Humans of AI, anthropologist Joseph Wilson draws on extensive fieldwork to show how artificial intelligence is not inevitable or autonomous, but built, shaped, and sustained by the people behind the machines.
Absolutely Interdisciplinary 2026 explores AI’s expanding role across society
The Schwartz Reisman Institute’s annual academic conference Absolutely Interdisciplinary explores interdisciplinary approaches to AI governance, risk, and safety on May 13, 2026, at U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. Registration is now open.
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