A recent hackathon and symposium co-sponsored by SRI and U of T's Data Sciences Institute explored new ways of using large language models responsibly, with students and faculty receiving training on how to design efficient, interdisciplinary solutions to promote responsible AI usage.

What opportunities and challenges are there for the use of AI in healthcare? At a recent SRI workshop, experts explored how AI is transforming Ontario's healthcare sector, highlighting its potential to improve care and exploring pressing challenges around patient involvement, health equity, and trustworthy implementation.

SRI researcher Silviu Pitis draws on decision theory to study how the principles of reward design for reinforcement learning agents are formulated. He also aims to understand how large language models make decisions by examining their implicit assumptions. Pitis has received a prestigious OpenAI Superalignment Fast Grant to support his research.

What does safe artificial intelligence look like? Could AI go rogue and pose an existential threat to humanity? These were among the pressing questions tackled by SRI experts during a recent panel discussion on AI safety.

The size of language models significantly impacts their adoption and usage. SRI Policy researcher Jamie A. Sandhu explores how small models are making big impacts in the field of AI.

Despite the growing use of ChatGPT, we lack a method to evaluate its performance and potential risks. SRI Associate Director Lisa Austin, Faculty Fellow Shion Guha, and Faculty Affiliates Anastasia Kuzminykh and Shurui Zhou are setting out to study and analyze the impact of generative AI on a wide range of communities. Learn more about "Toward a Fair and Inclusive Future of Work with ChatGPT."

The SRI Seminar Series returns for fall 2024 with leading experts across various fields, including computer science, communications, law, healthcare, and philosophy. Seminars will explore new questions at the intersection of technology and society through critical issues such as trust, inequality, public policy, and the ethical implications of AI systems.

For the third consecutive year, the Schwartz Reisman Institute of Technology and Society opened its doors to a select group of Juris Doctor (JD) students through its summer Research Assistant (RA) program. Learn more about this year's research projects and how our RA partnership with the Future of Law Lab has opened new insights and experiences for students interested in AI governance.

Griefbots are artificial intelligence programs designed to mimic deceased individuals by using their digital footprint. Griefbots raise significant concerns about data collection and implications to human dignity. This article explores the digital afterlife industry and the ethical and legal challenges it presents, including a consideration of health, privacy, and property laws in Canada.

SRI Director David Lie and 18 collaborators—including five other SRI researchers— will receive $5.6 million in grants over the next four years to develop solutions for critical artificial intelligence (AI) challenges. Learn more about the new funding from NSERC and CSE.

The field of AI safety emphasizes that systems be aligned with human values, often stating AI should “do no harm.” But lethal autonomous systems used for firearms and drones are already harming people. How can we address the reality of purposely harmful AI systems? SRI Graduate Fellow Michael Zhang writes about a panel of experts exploring this topic.

Get to know the 15 new faculty affiliates joining the SRI research community for the 2024–25 academic year. The new cohort of affiliates has expertise in a variety of fields across social sciences, humanities, and STEM disciplines, including geography, psychology, information studies, management, criminology, sociology, history, cultural studies, public health, physiology, pharmaceutical sciences, computer science, and engineering.