Digital Life Institute

New publication in the International Journal of Social Robotics by Digital Life Institute members at Ontario Tech University, Andrea Slane and Isabel Pedersen! Older People’s Ethical Framing of Autonomy in Relation to Current and Future Consumer Technologies: The Case of Socially Assistive Robots Abstract - Development of Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) and other assistive smart technologies is commonly justified by casting aged care as approaching a crisis point, due to an aging population and ensuing strain on healthcare systems. Combined with older people’s overwhelming wish to avoid more formal care contexts for as long as possible, this confluence of factors positions SARs as means to extend independent living, and so has inspired commercial developers to market their devices directly to older consumers. Preserving respect for the ethical principle of autonomy has been central to discussion of SARs in aged care settings, some of which incorporates the ethical views of older people. Since consumer SARs are claiming to integrate into older people’s digital device consumption practices, this article argues that more attention needs to be paid to what autonomy means to older peoples as digital technology consumers. Through analysis of marketing materials and two qualitative studies focused on how older people think about potential use of consumer SARs, the participants' ethical reasoning on autonomy is revealed to be informed by a sociotechnical discourse that on the one hand aligns with common cultural imaginaries of aging, but on the other displays a range of orientations towards consumer digital technology use on individual, collective and societal levels. The article contributes to the field a novel and nuanced understanding of the value of autonomy held by older people and their ethical reasoning concerning future consumer information technologies such as SARs. https://lnkd.in/gV8vJAX5

Call for papers for a special issue on AI and the planetary PolyCrisis: Climate, Sustainability, and Global Governance, in journal AI & Society I'm guest editor together with my amazing colleagues Leonie Bossert and Leonie Möck https://lnkd.in/ecUCdWsZ

As Canada invests in AI, Digital Life Institute approaches its fifth-year anniversary in 2025 with three AI research clusters dedicated to ethical alignment for the development of AI, the first of its kind at Ontario Tech University. We recognize and thank our partners University of Minnesota, Temple University, Texas Tech University, Concordia University, Ingenium Canada Science and Tech Museum, Tom Everrett, Ph.D. Thank you to SSHRC-CRSH for current funding on the ethical development and co-design of AI for equity-seeking communities to be led by Isabel Pedersen, Délon Alain Omrow, PhD, Andrea Slane, Mahadeo Sukhai, Andrew Iliadis & Ann Hill Duin. We recognize our cluster leaders and researchers for contributions in 2024 on AI and learning & education, work, labour, sustainability, arts, trust, hype, digital literacy, culture, privacy, autonomy, future tech, and other fields: Timothy MacNeill, Dr. Lesley Wilton, OCT, Daniel Hocutt, Nupoor Ranade, Ph.D., Dr. Mollie Stambler, Jason Tham, Gustav Verhulsdonck, Katlynne Davis, Rutwa Engineer, Jessica Campbell, Saveena (Chakrika) Veeramoothoo, Nathan Lloyd, Stephen Fonash, Shan XU, Cagdas Dedeoglu, Tanner Mirrlees, Patrick Hung, Alyson E. King, Peter Lewis, and Dr. Janette Hughes. Finally, we thank leaders at Ontario Tech Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Dean Dr. Peter Stoett and Ontario Tech University President Dr. Steven Murphy, PhD, ICD.D for supporting Digital Life Institute. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada https://lnkd.in/gkN8TQkd

Delighted to be at Milieux Institute this morning for the 4th annual Stéfan Sinclair-CRIHN lecture with presentations by Isabel Pedersen and two graduate students, Corina MacDonald (Concordia University) and Alice Truc (Université de Montréal) The video of the event will be available shortly.

Check out Digital Life Institute latest blog, Anticipating Writing’s Evolution: Insights from Writing Futures in the Age of Large Language Models https://lnkd.in/gN88gFZp

🎉 Honored to have spoken at the 14th Celebration of Women in Computing Conference at York University in Toronto! It was inspiring to connect with so many talented students and researchers dedicated to advancing NLP, machine intelligence, and tech innovation. Grateful for the opportunity to share insights and support the next generation of women in computing. Together, we can push the boundaries of what's possible in tech! 🌟💻 #WomenInSTEM #NLP #TechInspiration #YorkU #WomenInComputing #cancwic Mariana Akemi Shimabukuro Stacey Koornneef Bridget Green Riddhi More The #1 question from students around Canada is "How do I take the award-winning multilingual NLP course?"

Digital Life Institute featured its researchers at the 2024 annual meetings with concentration on the AI and Advocacy Challenge & Digital Life research frameworks. We are grateful for the work of our leads Ann Hill Duin University of Minnesota, Dr. Lesley Wilton, OCT University of Toronto, Délon Alain Omrow, PhD, Tim MacNeill, & Isabel Pedersen, Ontario Tech Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. We recognize our presenters: Dr. Mollie Stambler, James Madison University, School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication,  Dr. Katlynne Davis, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas Dr. Daniel Hocutt, School of Professional and Continuing Studies, University of Richmond Dr. Saveena (Chakrika) Veeramoothoo, Technical Communication, University of Houston-Downtown Downtown Dr. Lesley Wilton, OCT Wilton, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto  Professor Rutwa Engineer, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mathematical and Computational Sciences Dr. Taru Malhotra Malhotra, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo Dr. Alyson E. King, Faculty of Social Science & Humanities. Ontario Tech University Dr. Délon Alain Omrow, PhD, Centennial College, Ontario Tech University One of the presentations discussed this recent publication: Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement with Digital Life in Technical Communication Pedagogy, 2024, by Danielle Mollie Stambler, Nupoor Ranade, Ph.D., Daniel L. Hocutt, Stephen Fonash, Jessica Campbell, Ann Hill Duin, Isabel Pedersen, Jason Tham, Saveena (Chakrika) Veeramoothoo & Gustav Verhulsdonck

New edited book forthcoming in January --- ten detailed case studies of ecoviolence, broadly defined.

Digital Life Institute members to present a talk on Technology and Trafficking: Risks and Prevention in the Digital Age 24-hour Conference on Global Organized Crime, October 30, 7:30PM Speakers: Julius Kaka , Shawna Hill , Délon Alain Omrow, PhD , Vanesa Singh and Isabel Pedersen About This Talk The aim of the proposed symposium is to explore the wicked problem of human trafficking, looking specifically at how human traffickers are incorporating digital technology into their criminal activity to trap and exploit people using deception, violence, or coercion. Traffickers are now leveraging digital technology to recruit and control their victims, using keywords on social media to identify potential victims and using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to isolate and track both victims and those willing to pay for them as labor or for sexual exploitation. This panel will offer intersectional testimonials from survivors of human trafficking, but also analyze human trafficking AI-prevention technologies. https://lnkd.in/g2R2Um72

Congratulations Dr. Geoffrey E. Hinton, 2024 #NobelPrize, University of Toronto!