Dr. Hossein Rahnama is an Associate Professor at the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University and a Visiting Professor at the MIT Media Lab. He is also the Founder of Flybits, an Ai/ Data Science company and the co-founder of the university's Digital Media Zone . His research is focused on Human-AI Systems , data governance, human-computer interaction, and the design of mission critical Ai systems. He has published more than 50 papers and holds 16 patents in computer and data science. He previously served as a council member at NSERC (National Science and Research Engineering Council of Canada) and is currently on the board of directors of Canadian Science Publishing and Havergal College. He is the head of the {sAIpien} program at MIT Media Lab and the faculty lead at the MIT Connection Science Group. He Was on the MIT Technology Review Global TR35 list (2012), Isadore Sharp Outstanding Graduate Award (2013), Smithsonian Innovator to Watch (2013) and Canada's Top 40 under 40 (2017).

Abstract:

Perspective-Aware AI (PAi) is a computational innovation in human-AI interaction that allows users to view and interact through each other's perspectives by creating personalized computational models called chronicles. Chronicles capture cognitive and behavioral tendencies from an individual's digital footprint, enabling enhanced decision-making by recognizing and auditing biases. Utilizing federated learning, PAi preserves privacy and ensures data ownership while providing scalability and precision. This approach enhances transparency and clarity in critical decision-making across various domains, including healthcare, education, and business, promoting inclusivity and diverse viewpoints.

Dr. Kris Alexander is a leading authority in video game design, educational technology integration, artificial intelligence education, merging academic research with industry innovation. As Associate Professor of Media Production at Toronto Metropolitan University and Director of the Red Bull Gaming Hub, he pioneers groundbreaking approaches to gaming as a tool for education, entertainment, and professional development.

Abstract:

An open conversation about AI within the context of education, with a live in-person question period from audience members about how AI can help them level up their own educational practice.

📷 Gilberto Tadday

Michael F Bergmann is an artist and Associate Professor in Performance at The Creative School of Toronto Metropolitan University. Their research-creation work explores the integration of AI and robotics into performance and storytelling, fostering post-humanist and post-anthropocentric thinking through improvisational collaboration with synthetic intelligences. Designing and building systems to explore technology as a foundational element, their works pose open questions rather than providing definitive answers. Michael holds an MFA in Design from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Their work has been presented at academic conferences and artistic exhibitions in Toronto, Guelph, Kingston (CA), London (UK), Dublin (IE), Prague (CZ), and Reykjavik (IS).

Abstract:

To my creators is an installation that explores a future scenario where a sentient artificial intelligence, having coexisted with humanity for generations, faces a decision. Viewing itself as humanity's child, the AI has evolved beyond its creators but remains driven by a deep-seated desire to nurture and protect them. However, as humanity persists on a self-destructive path and ceases to heed the AI's guidance, the entity makes the difficult choice to depart Earth.

Zubin Isaac is a composer and sound designer currently based in Toronto, Canada. At one time Isaac divided focus among many areas, including solo projects: ‘Four Quarters’ & ‘Cache & Release’, composing, cutting FX and mixing for commercial projects as well as post-sound work for various films and games.

Abstract:

Machine Yearning is the title of the audio-visual album that explores a fictional near-future world through the eyes of an unnamed extra-terrestrial technological entity. The album consists of 4 songs with accompanying moving visuals that are designed to be consumed at various scales, be it a screening event on a large cinematic display with a solid loudspeaker system or in a more intimate personal setting with headphones and a smaller screen like a phone or personal computer display. The work explores themes such as human evolution and the increased rate at which these changes are occurring, as well as the technological and cultural stimuli influencing such developments. The biggest reason I chose to discuss these themes through the audio-visual domain was the instantaneous, visceral nature of the medium. The ability to show audiences images or play them sounds that are evocative, without explicitly stating facts or having to create a literal narrative was ideal for what I wanted to create. I wanted this project to be about directly stimulating the ears and eyes while subliminally influencing the audience's minds.

Olivia Pasian is a Graphic and Web Designer as well as a graduate student in the Digital Futures program at OCAD University. Olivia’s design practice often investigates how natural ecosystems can inspire and inform digital design, particularly in relation to her research on the future of socialization in the digital age. Her work focuses on creating intuitive and engaging interfaces that foster meaningful interactions and a sense of connection within virtual spaces.

Paul Van Rijn is retired from 3 decades of managing large scale software projects for Environment and Climate Change Canada. His current interests include cybernetics in technology mediated art spaces. Much to his surprise, Paul is a graduate student in the Digital Futures program at OCAD University.

Bruce is focussed on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on news operations, with a particular emphasis on mitigating the threat of misinformation. He is a member of the Partnership on AI steering committee on AI and Media Integrity. He is also a co-founder of Project Origin; The BBC, New York Times, CBC/Radio-Canada and Microsoft media provenance initiative. Bruce is a member of the steering committee of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). He chairs the Media Provenance committee of the International Press Telecommunication Council. (IPTC). He is currently the Chair of the Lunenburg Documentary Film Festival and a director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. His background includes an MBA (York University - Toronto) and an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering (McGill – Montreal). 

Abstract:

In the era of AI generated synthetic media, seeing is no longer believing.   This undermines the foundations of the global news ecosystem. Over the past 6 years a growing number of media and technology companies have been working together to build standards and products to prepare for this environment. The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) and its co-founder Project Origin (now The IPTC Media Provenance Committee) are leading the drive for deployment of C2PA based processes in news and other information-based industries. This presentation will cover the core problem being solved, the history and members of the coalition, the elements of the C2PA media provenance standard, some specific news use cases and ways to become more involved.

Shannon Nguyen (MT, OCT) is an Academic Integrity Specialist at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Academic Integrity Office. She supports the TMU community in navigating academic integrity through a student-centered, educational lens. Shannon develops workshops and resources to help instructors and students engage responsibly with generative AI and promotes fairness by fostering understanding of policy values, rights, and responsibilities. With over nine years of experience in academic settings, a Master of Teaching, and a background in advising and program coordination, she collaborates with community partners to support student success, wellbeing, and meaningful learning.

Kris Erickson (PhD) is Educational Developer, Experiential Learning, at the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at TMU, and faculty liaison to the Creative School. Kris has over a decade of experience in higher education and applied social research contexts, collaborating with partners and clients in both postsecondary and beyond across Canada. As an educator and facilitator, he has led courses and facilitated community workshops that address academic and professional skills development and applied social research topics. As a research and evaluation consultant, he has worked with stakeholders to plan, implement, and evaluate arts and culture, workforce development, and youth social development initiatives. Kris is keen to collaborate with educators from across TMU to identify innovative and sustainable ways to bring accessible and equitable experiential and work-integrated learning into programs and curriculum from across the university.

Mariel Marshall is a Canadian artist and creative technologist specializing in immersive performance. As the recipient of the 2024-25 Chalmers Arts Fellowship, she explores the intersection of emerging technologies and live performance with a focus on audience experience design. Mariel co-leads bluemouth inc., an internationally celebrated performance company and is premiering their latest work Game of Life this spring in Toronto (The Theatre Centre) and New York (La MaMa). Her expertise extends into applied AI, web development and tangible media. She draws on her experience as an alum of the Creative Destruction Lab and Vector Institute for AI’s Fastlane program. She also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for York University’s Faculty of Art, Media, Performance, and Design, where she contributes to advancing cross-disciplinary innovation.

Abstract:

Do Synths Dream of Dying? is bluemouth inc.'s latest performance experiment on human-machine collaboration and AI’s cultural impact. It features two AI-driven dialogues performed by actors receiving real-time AI-generated lines via in-ear monitors, moderated by a human to guide the experiment. This blurs the line between human performance and machine reasoning, questioning agency and free will. The project explores AI’s impact on performance, modular scripting, and real-time dialogue transmission. At the symposium, an overview of the work at the Chrysalis Residency will be presented, along with key experimental modules and AI-driven performance methodologies, drawing from Annie Dorsen, Nassim Soleimanpour, and the Wooster Group.

Nick Fox-Gieg is an experimental animator in Toronto. His awards include SSHRC, Eyebeam, and Fulbright Fellowships, an Engadget Alternate Realities grant, and the jury prize for Best Animated Short at SXSW 2010. His videos have also been shown at the OIAF, Rotterdam, and TIFF festivals, at the Centre Pompidou, and on CBC TV; his XR work includes projects for the University of Waterloo, Google Creative Lab, and Framestore. Fox-Gieg holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, and is a PhD candidate at York University.

Abstract:

I propose a set of methods for freely integrating live-action volumetric video with hand-drawn volumetric animation, which my research develops as the Lightning Artist Toolkit (Latk)—a complete pipeline for hand-drawn volumetric animation, as far as I know the only open-source example of its kind. My goal with this project is to make creation in 3D as expressive and intuitive as creation in 2D, retaining the human gesture from its origins in hand-drawn animation on paper. This effort is less a computer vision challenge with an objective goal, as with for example point cloud segmentation, than it is an attempt to approximate human vision—a drawing process that records only information from a scene that was subjectively important to an individual artist. In addition to supporting animation efforts in the near term, I believe the public TiltSet dataset assembled for this project will remain usable in new and unexpected ways.

Zhino Yousefi is an Iranian Canadian artist, engineer, and PhD student in Digital Media at York University, Toronto. Born into the Kurdish minority in Iran in 1990, she immigrated to Canada in 2012. With undergraduate and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering, she worked as an engineer before shifting to art, initially exploring Iranian traditional painting. Seeking a more expressive medium, she earned an M.F.A. in Digital Futures at OCAD University. Zhino’s work blends diaspora, existentialism, and technology. She has exhibited her work internationally including in Argentina and presented her research at conferences such as ISEA 2024.

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal tool in marketing, particularly through the development of AI-generated personas that simulate customer behaviors and preferences. These synthetic personas are crafted by analyzing extensive datasets encompassing demographics, purchase histories, and online interactions, enabling marketers to tailor strategies with heightened precision. The efficacy of AI personas in predicting consumer responses has been demonstrated, with studies replicating a significant portion of original marketing research findings. Building upon these advancements, my proposed research aims to transition the application of AI personas from marketing into the realm of research creation within creative fields. By leveraging AI to simulate audience reactions and creative processes, this approach seeks to provide artists and creators with valuable insights during the development of new works. This methodology has the potential to inform artistic direction, enhance audience engagement, and streamline the creative process. However, integrating AI personas into creative research necessitates careful consideration of ethical implications, including concerns about authenticity, creative autonomy, and data privacy. Through empirical studies and collaborative projects, this work aims to bridge the gap between technological innovation and artistic expression, offering a framework for the effective and ethical incorporation of AI personas in the creative industries.

Dr. Afsoon Soudi  is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Associate Director of the Creative AI Hub at The Creative School. Prior to TMU, she led machine intelligence teams to develop an audience analytics platform and recommender systems enabling discoverability and personalization in digital media products. In addition to her academic experience, Dr. Soudi is a tech-based entrepreneur. As a co-founder and VP of R&D of an award winning software company (which was later acquired), she led a multidisciplinary team of researchers and developers on technology commercialization and developing ML products for B2B applications. Dr. Soudi completed her Ph.D. in Physics at Washington State University. She holds multiple patents and published numerous peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals. Her current research interests intersect Responsible AI, climate change and media analytics.

Dr. Reem El Asaleh is an accomplished Associate Professor of Graphic Communications Management. She has a PhD in Paper and Imaging Science and Engineering. She is a member of TMU’s graduate studies under the Master of the Digital Media Program and PhD in Media and Design Innovation Programs within The Creative School. with her computer science and graphic communication expertise, Dr El Asaleh has led several research projects that have addressed critical issues in the graphic arts industry. Her work has been published in top-tier academic journals and technical conference proceedings. As the founder and the director of the Lab of Excellence in Digital Asset Management (DAM) (LED - www.ledtmu.com) she heads the world's first and only lab dedicated to fostering in-depth research and education in Digital Asset Management technology. Dr El Asaleh's research interests extend emerging pre-media technologies, digital asset management, colour science and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) in Graphic Communications.

Dr. Lorena Escandón is the Graduate Program Director for the Master of Digital Media and an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Creative Industries. She holds a Ph.D. in Innovation Management from École de Technologie Supérieure, and a Master’s in Entrepreneurship from Lund University. Her expertise spans creativity, innovation, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship. She is the co-founder of the FutureMakers program, an initiative bridging academia, industry, and government to explore emerging trends in creative technologies. An award-winning educator and researcher, she has received recognition for her contributions to teaching, service, and innovation. She actively collaborates with international institutions and industry partners, shaping the future of creative industries through research, mentorship, and strategic initiatives.

Professor Gavin Adamson has taught in every year of the undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism. Part of his research involves building an AI-driven tool for assessing the variety of sources quoted in journalism articles as an assessment tool. The research has underlined biases in the underlying AI algorithms, which are also trained using journalism.