Upcoming SRI Seminars showcase new insights on cutting-edge AI research
The SRI Seminar Series returns for 2025 with leading experts exploring AI’s impacts from a wide range of disciplines, including computer science, psychology, law, philosophy, and communication. SRI Seminars are held weekly and are free to attend.
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (SRI) is proud to announce its Seminar Series programming for 2025. This semester, an exceptional lineup of scholars and experts from diverse disciplines—including neuroscience, philosophy, law, and computer science—will explore pressing issues shaping the future of technology and society. Through thought-provoking presentations of cutting-edge research, the series will address topics such as the ethical design of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the transformative role of machine learning in healthcare, and the societal implications of generative AI technologies.
The Winter 2025 edition of the SRI Seminar Series brings together a wide range of distinguished thinkers working at the intersection of AI, governance, and sociotechnical research. These weekly seminars, free and open to the public, are designed to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among academics, experts from policy and industry backgrounds, and the general public. Participants will gain unique insights into current research questions and pressing societal challenges brought about by rapid technological advancements.
SRI Seminars take place every Wednesday from 12:30 to 2:00 PM ET and are primarily offered online, with two in-person sessions this semester presented in partnership with the University of Toronto’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Each talk features a leading thinker sharing innovative ideas aimed at addressing some of the most significant questions of our time.
From top left to bottom right: SRI Seminar Series presenters Christopher Summerfield, Virginia Dignum, Rahul G. Krishnan, Pamela Samuelson, Catherine Stinson, Jeff Clune, Yejin Choi, Beth Coleman, Joshua August Skorburg, and Sandra Wachter.
Exploring AI’s societal impacts
The series kicks off on January 15, 2025, with a talk by Christopher Summerfield, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford and staff scientist at DeepMind. Summerfield’s research bridges neuroscience with machine learning, exploring how insights from psychology can inform the design of intelligent systems, and shedding light on what AI can reveal about human cognition. Summerfield’s presentation will explore his most recent work, in which he and his collaborators developed a large language model called the “Habermas Machine” to act as an AI mediator, helping groups with differing views find consensus by synthesizing opinions into clear and fair summaries.
The following week, on January 22, 2025, Virginia Dignum, professor of responsible artificial intelligence and director of the AI Policy Lab at Umeå University, will discuss the critical importance of balancing AI innovation with social responsibility. A leading researcher on the ethical and societal impacts of AI, Dignum is a member of the European Union’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI and an expert in developing regulatory frameworks and evaluating human interactions with autonomous agents. Her talk will explore the need for responsible approaches to AI development that emphasize trust, cooperation, and the common good through regulation and governance. A prominent figure in global conversations around AI governance, SRI is delighted to host Dignum as the Institute’s 100th Seminar Series presenter.
On January 29, 2025, SRI Faculty Affiliate Rahul G. Krishnan, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science and Canada Research Chair in Computational Medicine, will share his work on how machine learning is transforming healthcare. From personalized patient care to advanced diagnostics, Krishnan’s research highlights the incredible potential of AI to revolutionize medicine, while addressing the challenges of implementing these technologies in real-world settings.
Pamela Samuelson, a renowned pioneer in digital copyright law and intellectual property, will follow on February 5, 2025. A professor at the University of California Berkeley, Samuelson will delve into the legal challenges posed by generative AI technologies, exploring their implications for copyright, creativity, and intellectual property frameworks in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
The series’ first in-person event of the semester will take place on February 12, 2025, at Rotman School of Management, and is co-sponsored by the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Catherine Stinson, Queen’s National Scholar in the Philosophical Implications of AI, will discuss the ethical dimensions of AI technologies. This hybrid seminar will also be streamed live for online participants.
As the SRI Seminar Series continues, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with other luminary speakers, including:
February 26, 2025: Yejin Choi, incoming professor of computer science at Stanford University and senior fellow at Stanford HAI, whose work addresses knowledge, reasoning, and moral decision-making in AI systems, and AI for social good.
March 5, 2025: Beth Coleman, associate professor of data and cities at U of T’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and SRI research lead, who will explore the pivotal role of trust in human interactions with machine learning technologies through interdisciplinary perspectives.
March 12, 2025: Jeff Clune, professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia, Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, and senior research advisor at DeepMind, whose research on AI safety and deep reinforcement learning provides critical insights into building robust and transparent AI systems.
March 19, 2025: Joshua August Skorburg, associate professor at the University of Guelph and co-director of the Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (CARE-AI), who will discuss the ethical implications of generative AI technologies at the series’ second in-person event.
March 26, 2025: Sandra Wachter, professor of technology and regulation at the University of Oxford, who will conclude the series with an in-depth discussion on whether LLMs have a legal duty to tell the truth, analyzing obligations under EU human rights law, the Artificial Intelligence Act, and other regulatory frameworks.
The SRI Seminar Series has established itself as a premier platform at the University of Toronto for interdisciplinary exploration of the social, ethical, and technological challenges facing society today. Since its inception in 2020, the series has hosted over 100 speakers across 20 disciplines and attracted thousands of participants from around the globe. Past speakers have included luminaries such as Cynthia Dwork (Harvard), Luciano Floridi (Yale), Arvind Narayanan (Princeton), and Beth Simone Noveck (Northeastern).
Recordings of previous seminars are available on SRI’s YouTube channel, allowing the broader community to engage with these critical discussions at their own pace.
The Winter 2025 SRI Seminar Series promises to continue this tradition, offering a unique opportunity to learn from leading voices in AI and technology research while participating in meaningful conversations about the future of society.
Don’t miss your chance to engage with these thought leaders—register now.
