TMU conference examines how technology impacts migrants in Canada

The Migration Disrupted conference covered broad perspectives on how technology influences the experiences and integration of refugees and migrants trying to find their footing in a new society. It also explored how technology’s effect on jobs across the economy is contributing to the structural inequalities that settled migrants and racialized minorities face in their daily lives.

Advanced digital technologies (ADTs) can help migrants connect with informal groups and expand their social networks. They also have the potential to enhance civic engagement and political participation of migrants through online policy consultations or town halls. On the other hand, they present risks around polarization, divisive politics and invisible digital surveillance. Speakers Anatoliy Gruzd from TMU, Ana Beduschi from University of Exeter, Ricardo Baeza from Northeastern University, Munmun De Choudhury from Georgia Institute of Technology and Yasmeen Abu-Laban from University of Alberta discussed the impact of ADTs on migration, citizenship and democracy.

In a fireside chat about using artificial intelligence in immigration and migrant integration, Foutse Khomh of Polytechnique Montréal talked about the technology’s potential to be used for social good. “It needs to be employed in support of human agency and decision-making. Current technology is not ready for autonomous usage; it needs constant assessment by humans to ensure it is used in the right way,” he said. Chief AI Officer at Western University Mark Daley said, “there is no responsible or irresponsible AI; AI is just a technology. Even if a system is autonomous or semi-autonomous, the human behind it is still responsible. You are the agent and you need to exercise that agency responsibly.”

At the second roundtable session chaired by TMU Nursing Professor Josephine Wong, experts discussed how digital technologies have improved health care and quality of life in many ways, but they also need to support equitable access to health care and migrant well-being. Panellists included Marla Asis from Scalabrini Migration Centre, Andre Renzaho from Western Sydney University, Elizabeth Saewyc from University of British Columbia and Karen Soldatic from Toronto Metropolitan University.

Day two of the conference kicked off with a discussion about designing social and technological infrastructure that can affect how services are delivered, the organization of workplaces and social networks, and how a community welcomes newcomers. TMU Urban Planning Professor Zhixi Zhuang said that the focus should be on the peripheries, where social and physical infrastructures are most underdeveloped. "Staying in Canada is different from arriving in Canada. We are talking about civic, spatial, economic and social inclusion. How can technology support that?"

Other speakers included Cathy Yang Liu from Georgia State University, Gil Penalosa from 8 80 Cities and Geoffrey Rockwell from the University of Alberta.

In his presentation, Bilal Farooq from TMU’s Laboratory of Innovations in Transportation (LiTrans) shared how they are using extended reality (XR) and digital twins technology to understand human travel behaviour when faced with novel and emerging future choices such as automated vehicles. Pictured here is a student demonstrating how these disruptive technologies have the potential to be useful tools for studying the behaviour, preferences and decisions of migrants.

Small group discussions were held to exchange ideas and diverse perspectives on topics such as strengthening digital inclusion in newcomer integration processes and exploring directions for future research and learning.