PIF Presents: The Promise and Perils of AI

As artificial intelligence surges into use and into the public discourse, important questions have been raised about its use and the need for regulation. How is this new technology likely to be applied in the media, art, healthcare, and politics? What are AI’s inherent limitations and how will its development intersect with other important public debates?

Featuring:

Blair Attard-Frost. University of Toronto Ph.D candidate in the Faculty of Information whose research examines the social construction of intelligence and artificial intelligence; the political economy, ecology, and ethics of AI value chains; and the design and implementation of AI policies and strategies. Their work integrates perspectives from service sciences, cognitive sciences, public policy, information management, and queer studies.

Anita Balakrishnan. Journalist covering technology and business for The Logic. Her work examines AI and the transformation of legacy automakers and auto-parts manufacturers as well as labour, EV infrastructure, IP, and the supply chain. She has been a business reporter and editor at The Canadian Press and at Thomson Reuters’ Law Times, and was a technology and business reporter for CNBC.com. She is based in Toronto.

Vass Bednar. The Executive Director of McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program, her work focuses on intersections between public policy and technology. She contributes to policy discussions in Canada as a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum, through contributions to the Globe & Mail and the Financial Post, and her popular newsletter “regs to riches.”

Ryan Kelln. A software artist currently living in Toronto, Canada, Kelln has a background in art, tech, and video game development, but tries to spend as much of his time as possible designing and creating systems to enlighten and empower. He is a strong advocate for open source software and the creative commons. Since 2015 he has been focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence and its implications and interactions with art and economics.

Ross Upshur. Physician, researcher, and professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health of the University of Toronto. He teaches courses and conducts research on the intersections of AI and medicine.