The Schwartz Reisman Institute has appointed internationally recognized digital culture and AI literacy scholar Kaitlyn Regehr as its inaugural Global Fellow. Regehr will lead a large-scale initiative to build broad understanding around how AI is shaping society—particularly its impacts on children, young people, and their futures.

What can the steam engine, telegraph and railroad teach us about artificial intelligence? Quite a lot. In a new U of T history course, SRI Faculty Affiliate L.K. Bertram is helping students understand today’s AI revolution through the technological upheavals that came before it — exploring how new technologies can reshape power, infrastructure and society.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A new partnership co-led by Karina Vold is confronting racism in AI systems—highlighting how tools like facial recognition and LLMs disproportionately harm Black and racialized communities, and calling for greater public awareness and equitable governance of AI in Canada.

SRI Faculty Affiliate Paolo Granata reflects on his new book Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI, rethinking how artificial intelligence reshapes learning, research, and creativity by positioning AI as a co-creative partner in intellectual life rather than merely a tool for automation.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute is now accepting applications for its 2026 Graduate Fellowships, supporting U of T researchers advancing responsible, human-centred approaches to AI and emerging technology. The one-year fellowship includes a $7,500 stipend and access to SRI’s interdisciplinary research community. Apply by February 8, 2026.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society has launched its 2025–2028 strategic plan, outlining a focused vision for steering advanced AI toward safety, ethics, and the public good. Centered on safe AI systems, data integrity, and the social impacts of technology, the plan sets out priorities to advance interdisciplinary research, translate insights into real-world policy impact, and strengthen global leadership in AI governance.