Are you a U of T researcher who is passionate about ensuring new technologies are effective, safe, ethical, and fair? The Schwartz Reisman Institute welcomes faculty and graduate fellowship applications from U of T researchers from all academic disciplines.

Where is technology leading us? When we speak about the future, what does it mean for our identity as individuals and as citizens of states? When we arrive home, what will it look like? Themes of identity, place, and mediation were explored at the Schwartz Reisman Institute’s graduate workshop “Views on Techno-Utopia” by presenters Rushay Naik and Lilith Acadia.

Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used for producing automated decisions throughout society. While ML offers the promise of scale and efficiency, it runs the risk of codifying biases—such as racism and sexism—in its decisions. As discussed in the Absolutely Interdisciplinary conference session “Fairness in Machine Learning,” understanding and mitigating this risk will require a team effort from scholars across many disciplines.

In a recent TEDxToronto talk, SRI Director Gillian Hadfield examines how we can restore balance with big tech companies, and why it requires reinventing our rules for the 21st century. Hadfield argues that by developing new ways to become as innovative about our rule-making as we are about our technologies, we can meet today’s challenges.

At the Schwartz Reisman Institute’s graduate workshop "Views on Techno-Utopia," presenters Jamie Duncan and Julian Posada discussed the disconnect between the complex circumstances in which the data used to train AI systems are sourced and the laws and regulations designed to protect people’s data rights.

In a new paper published, SRI Faculty Affiliate Ashton Anderson uses machine learning to demonstrate the 2016 rise in online political polarization was driven by a growth in new, largely right-wing, users, rather than the radicalization of existing users. Anderson’s data challenges the theory that online echo chambers are a primary cause of polarization.

The SRI Advisory Board is composed of distinguished leaders in computer science, law, technological entrepreneurship and regulation, public policy, digital citizenship and inclusion, and global philanthropy. Its function is to provide guidance and recommendations to SRI’s leadership that will maximize the research and societal impact of the Institute.

Absolutely Interdisciplinary 2021 brought together over 270 participants from around the world, to explore the theme of “Human and Machine Normativity: New Connections.” The conference brought together researchers working on similar questions from a variety of disciplines in order to map out new terrain for thinking about human and machine normativity.

Are you a scholar with a PhD in a computational discipline? The Schwartz Reisman Institute is hiring a new postdoctoral fellow to engage in a research program headed by Gillian Hadfield that will explore the phenomenon of human normativity and group coordination.

This year’s Absolutely Interdisciplinary conference will forge new connections between researchers studying normativity in human and machine contexts, bringing academic disciplines together to develop novel approaches towards ensuring technology is aligned with human values. The conference runs from June 16-18, 2021.

Hailing from a wide variety of disciplines, our graduate fellows represent the best and brightest U of T student researchers working on topics at the intersection of technology and society. The fellows will serve a one-year term at the Schwartz Reisman Institute.

Launched in 2014, the 100-Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100) convenes leading thinkers from across a wide spectrum of fields to examine how the effects of AI will ripple through every aspect of how people work, live, and play. The initiative’s new report is out now, and features contributions from SRI Director Gillian Hadfield and SRI Associate Director Sheila McIlraith.