SRI researchers are presenting across nearly 30 sessions at 4S 2026, the world’s largest gathering of science and technology studies scholars, held this year in Toronto. From the political economy of AI to care, labour, surveillance and data justice, 22 members of our community are sharing work that asks who shapes technology—and who it serves.

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.

SRI researchers are heading to Seoul this July for ICML 2026, and they're arriving with a lot to share. Across 24 papers, seven position papers, and a co-organized workshop, 21 members of our community are presenting work spanning machine learning theory, AI safety, clinical AI, legal compliance, and more.

SRI researchers will present 13 accepted papers and one workshop session at FAccT 2026, showcasing the Institute’s research in responsible AI, algorithmic governance, alignment, privacy, and the impacts of socio-technical systems.

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.

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.

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.

From AI chatbots marketed as digital partners to voice assistants designed for intimacy, these systems promise connection while raising urgent questions about privacy, manipulation, and digital addiction.

With two new appointments and six renewed roles, the Schwartz Reisman Institute’s 2025–26 cohort of research leads will advance projects on trust, creative pedagogy, agentic AI, democratic fairness, and human–machine relationships, fostering public dialogue and policy insights on the transformative role of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute is proud to announce its SRI Seminar Series programming for Fall 2025. This semester, an extraordinary lineup of scholars, technologists, and legal thinkers will examine urgent issues at the intersection of technology, governance, and society. Through thought-provoking presentations of new research and ideas, the series will explore topics ranging from the ethics of AI in education and the creative industries, to the governance of advanced AI systems, to the social and political dynamics of democratic engagement in the digital age.