SRI Research Lead Beth Coleman and SRI Faculty Affiliate Rahul Krishnan are co-hosts of the new podcast “What Now? AI”. Coleman and Krishnan explore—and demystify—artificial intelligence and its impact on society with the help of leading experts. Guests include Gillian Hadfield, Roger Grosse, Christine Allen, and Andrew Pinto.

As challenges such as AI safety, data privacy and misinformation become increasingly prevalent, the Embedded Ethics Education Initiative (E3I) integrates ethics modules into select undergraduate computer science courses. In recognition of the program’s impact on the undergraduate student learning experience, the team behind E3I has won the 2024 Northrop Frye Award (Team), one of the prestigious U of T Alumni Association Awards of Excellence.

The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) has released their 7th annual AI Index, and this year’s edition includes data from a joint project by SRI and the Policy, Elections and Representation Lab (PEARL) at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. The Stanford Index is considered one of the most trusted and widely-read indices about the state of AI in the world.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute’s annual academic conference will take place May 6–8, 2024, with select sessions taking place in the newly-completed Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus located in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District. Speakers include: Peter Railton, Harper Reed, Huili Chen, Ray Perrault, Gillian Hadfield, and more.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute is pleased to announce the addition of 10 new faculty affiliates to its research community. Hailing from across the University of Toronto, the new cohort of faculty affiliates brings an array of expertise from diverse fields including sociology, Indigenous studies, philosophy, and computer science, enriching the scope of research conducted by SRI’s vibrant community.

The SRI Seminar Series returns for 2024 with 12 exciting presentations exploring how data-driven technologies are changing our world, including talks on economics, law, political science, privacy, behavioural science, linguistics, and the ethics of AI. Registration for all sessions is now open.

Do we trust machine learning systems, and if so why? How can ML systems earn and maintain our trust? These and related questions will be explored by an interdisciplinary working group convened by Beth Coleman now accepting applications from PhD and postdoctoral researchers.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society has launched its call for 2024 faculty and graduate fellowships, open to researchers at the University of Toronto whose work explores the social impacts of new technologies.

The Schwartz Reisman Institute’s 2021–23 faculty fellows explored the social implications of new technologies, foregrounding the significance of ethics, equity, and human-centred values. Learn more about their research projects and how to apply for Schwartz Reisman fellowships.

U of T University Professor emeritus and “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton delivered a lecture at Convocation Hall discussing whether large language models understand what they are doing and the existential risks posed by unfettered development of the technology he helped create.

Seven new senior fellows, including SRI Director Gillian Hadfield, have been selected by Schmidt Futures to solve hard problems in artificial intelligence through multidisciplinary research, with up to USD $7 million in support.

In We, The Data, Wendy H. Wong argues that we need to reboot human rights to match the pressures of our data-intensive world. Exploring surveillance, facial recognition technologies, data rights, and more, Wong makes a compelling case for why the public needs to engage Big Tech as data stakeholders.