Centre for Society, Technology and Values @uofwaterloo
@cstv-uw.bsky.social
We offer courses on social aspects of technology: cstv.uwaterloo.ca
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Next CSTV Movie Night—May 13, 2025—The Matrix (1999): This movie combined cyberpunk themes with kung fu and lots of guns to raise issues of human freedom in the age of AI!
Free admission & popcorn!
See you in E5 6008 at 6:30pm. Bring a friend!
Free admission & popcorn!
See you in E5 6008 at 6:30pm. Bring a friend!
Medical practitioners may leak sensitive data when using online #AI services, an issue that calls for #cybersecurity audits, certified safe-for-health services, and AI literacy training for staff, argue Abbas Yazdinejad & @dzevela.bsky.social
theconversation.com/silent-cyber... #medicine
theconversation.com/silent-cyber... #medicine
Silent cyber threats: How shadow AI could undermine Canada’s digital health defences
Shadow AI is the unsanctioned use of AI systems without formal institutional oversight. In health care, it means pasting patient details into public chatbots.
theconversation.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Medical practitioners may leak sensitive data when using online #AI services, an issue that calls for #cybersecurity audits, certified safe-for-health services, and AI literacy training for staff, argue Abbas Yazdinejad & @dzevela.bsky.social
theconversation.com/silent-cyber... #medicine
theconversation.com/silent-cyber... #medicine
Distractions caused by computer use in classrooms is likely behind big drops in grades, an issue that should be remedied by restricting or eliminating the devices as much as possible, argues Jean Twenge
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/o... #education
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/o... #education
Opinion | The Screen That Ate Your Child’s Education
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Distractions caused by computer use in classrooms is likely behind big drops in grades, an issue that should be remedied by restricting or eliminating the devices as much as possible, argues Jean Twenge
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/o... #education
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/o... #education
Intimate #AI "companions" are powerful inducers of delusional thinking in users and should be treated not like pornography but like addictive things like gambling or tobacco, argues @laurenkunze.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o... #regulation
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o... #regulation
Opinion | The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Intimate #AI "companions" are powerful inducers of delusional thinking in users and should be treated not like pornography but like addictive things like gambling or tobacco, argues @laurenkunze.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o... #regulation
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o... #regulation
Can a gen-AI system produce content that defames ppl, despite not having intent? Several lawsuits now underway may clarify the legal issue, if any go to trial, explains Ken Bensinger
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/b... #AI
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/b... #AI
Who Pays When A.I. Is Wrong?
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Can a gen-AI system produce content that defames ppl, despite not having intent? Several lawsuits now underway may clarify the legal issue, if any go to trial, explains Ken Bensinger
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/b... #AI
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/b... #AI
Though ppl enjoy #AI/#robot "companions" in various ways, they may also exacerbate loneliness or #MentalHealth issues, undermine ppl's self-agency, and give providers too much market power, concerns not addressable by self-regulation
www.economist.com/internationa...
www.economist.com/internationa...
A new industry of AI companions is emerging
It may have profound implications for society and what it means to be human
www.economist.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Though ppl enjoy #AI/#robot "companions" in various ways, they may also exacerbate loneliness or #MentalHealth issues, undermine ppl's self-agency, and give providers too much market power, concerns not addressable by self-regulation
www.economist.com/internationa...
www.economist.com/internationa...
Adoption of #AI in classrooms presents challenges for teachers involving assessments, equity, workload, deskilling, and their rapport with students, explains Nadia Delanoy
theconversation.com/we-asked-tea... #education
theconversation.com/we-asked-tea... #education
We asked teachers about their experiences with AI in the classroom — here’s what they said
Classrooms are shaped by emotion, relationships and unpredictability. Teachers in a study described a widening gap between AI policy expectations and the realities of classrooms.
theconversation.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Adoption of #AI in classrooms presents challenges for teachers involving assessments, equity, workload, deskilling, and their rapport with students, explains Nadia Delanoy
theconversation.com/we-asked-tea... #education
theconversation.com/we-asked-tea... #education
Sensitive things that ppl tell their #chatbots should be considered legally confidential (currently, authorities can access your disclosures to your #AI friend, with potential legal consequences), argues @nilsgilman.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o... #privacy
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o... #privacy
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Sensitive things that ppl tell their #chatbots should be considered legally confidential (currently, authorities can access your disclosures to your #AI friend, with potential legal consequences), argues @nilsgilman.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o... #privacy
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o... #privacy
Despite "robust measures", including human and #AI review, ads for illegal drugs delivered by mail appear readily on #Facebook, leading critics to think the company doesn't really want to remove them, explain Ben Mussett & Omar Mosleh
www.thestar.com/news/investi... #fairness
www.thestar.com/news/investi... #fairness
We ordered cocaine for $100 through a Facebook ad. Here’s why it was easy to buy illegal drugs online in Canada
Meta, the tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, says it has “zero tolerance” for the ads and works to find and remove the illegal drug posts.
www.thestar.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Despite "robust measures", including human and #AI review, ads for illegal drugs delivered by mail appear readily on #Facebook, leading critics to think the company doesn't really want to remove them, explain Ben Mussett & Omar Mosleh
www.thestar.com/news/investi... #fairness
www.thestar.com/news/investi... #fairness
The pitfalls of #AI legal assistants, such as deskilling and overtrust in recommendations, can be mitigated by designing assistants to play a subordinate role and have lawyers actively maintain skill sets, argues Alexander Schuhr
www.fastcompany.com/91439520/you... #law
www.fastcompany.com/91439520/you... #law
Your AI assistant might be making you worse at your job, unless it's built right
Learning how to best use these tools is crucial, too.
www.fastcompany.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The pitfalls of #AI legal assistants, such as deskilling and overtrust in recommendations, can be mitigated by designing assistants to play a subordinate role and have lawyers actively maintain skill sets, argues Alexander Schuhr
www.fastcompany.com/91439520/you... #law
www.fastcompany.com/91439520/you... #law
US agencies ICE and DHS are now using enhanced #surveillance tools using mobile #FacialRecognition and #spyware that critics consider threats to #privacy and civil liberties until recently, explains @jjoffeblock.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/11/08/n... #AI
www.npr.org/2025/11/08/n... #AI
Immigration agents have new technology to identify and track people
The Department of Homeland Security is adopting powerful new tools to monitor noncitizens. Privacy advocates are worried they erode privacy rights for all Americans.
www.npr.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:47 PM
US agencies ICE and DHS are now using enhanced #surveillance tools using mobile #FacialRecognition and #spyware that critics consider threats to #privacy and civil liberties until recently, explains @jjoffeblock.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/11/08/n... #AI
www.npr.org/2025/11/08/n... #AI
Firms are turning to #AI to perform job interviews and, surprisingly, job candidates seem to prefer them to humans as well, explains @wailinwong.bsky.social & @adrianma.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n... #work
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n... #work
Recruiting companies are starting to hold job interviews using AI
Companies have begun using AI to interview potential employees, and a new study shows a number of job candidates may prefer being interviewed by AI.
www.npr.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Firms are turning to #AI to perform job interviews and, surprisingly, job candidates seem to prefer them to humans as well, explains @wailinwong.bsky.social & @adrianma.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n... #work
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n... #work
#OpenAI's Atlas browser promises to use #AI take care of mundane tasks for you but poses significant risks for user #privacy and security, explains John Ruwitch
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
OpenAI's new web browser has ChatGPT baked in. That's raising some privacy questions
The Atlas browser can act as your "agent" online, doing tasks like shopping or booking tickets. But that gives it access to a lot of personal information.
www.npr.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
#OpenAI's Atlas browser promises to use #AI take care of mundane tasks for you but poses significant risks for user #privacy and security, explains John Ruwitch
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
#AI provides #news organizations will tools to improve and expand their work but also pose critical questions about authorship and quality of the results, explain Benjamin Mullin & @katierobertson.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/b...
A.I. Sweeps Through Newsrooms, but Is It a Journalist or a Tool?
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:05 PM
#AI provides #news organizations will tools to improve and expand their work but also pose critical questions about authorship and quality of the results, explain Benjamin Mullin & @katierobertson.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/b...
As use of #Chatbots for companionship grows in many populations, concerns over #privacy, #loneliness, and agency increase as well, and regulators consider how/whether to intercede.
www.economist.com/internationa... #AI
www.economist.com/internationa... #AI
A new industry of AI companions is emerging
It may have profound implications for society and what it means to be human
www.economist.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
As use of #Chatbots for companionship grows in many populations, concerns over #privacy, #loneliness, and agency increase as well, and regulators consider how/whether to intercede.
www.economist.com/internationa... #AI
www.economist.com/internationa... #AI
Ad boards at Union Station, #Toronto, have cameras that include "facial detection," which the owners say respects ppl's #privacy but which not do gain "meaningful consent," explains Kevin Jiang
www.thestar.com/news/gta/the... #AI
www.thestar.com/news/gta/the... #AI
These ads at Union Station and other places around Toronto could be recording you. What you need to know
A social media post drew outrage after highlighting billboards recording Torontonians’ biometric data. Here’s what’s going on.
www.thestar.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Ad boards at Union Station, #Toronto, have cameras that include "facial detection," which the owners say respects ppl's #privacy but which not do gain "meaningful consent," explains Kevin Jiang
www.thestar.com/news/gta/the... #AI
www.thestar.com/news/gta/the... #AI
#GenAI undermines the integrity of online courses, especially asynchronous ones, leaving individual instructors without the means to credibly ensure learning outcomes, a situation requiring institutional support, argue Mohammed Estaiteyeh & Rahul Kumar
theconversation.com/how-ai-is-ch...
theconversation.com/how-ai-is-ch...
How AI is challenging the credibility of some online courses
AI agents can navigate course sites, consume materials and complete assignments, effectively simulating student engagement.
theconversation.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:26 PM
#GenAI undermines the integrity of online courses, especially asynchronous ones, leaving individual instructors without the means to credibly ensure learning outcomes, a situation requiring institutional support, argue Mohammed Estaiteyeh & Rahul Kumar
theconversation.com/how-ai-is-ch...
theconversation.com/how-ai-is-ch...
#GenAI online reviews, which are hard to detect reliably, are becoming common, undermining #trust in the review system, explains Sheila Reid
www.thestar.com/business/is-... #AI
www.thestar.com/business/is-... #AI
Is it man or machine? The rise of AI-generated reviews is making it harder to spot the online fakes
Analysis of Canadian industries by an AI-detection firm finds that machine-made reviews are suspected in up to 35% of marketing posts, and experts says it's increasingly difficult to filter out
www.thestar.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 PM
#GenAI online reviews, which are hard to detect reliably, are becoming common, undermining #trust in the review system, explains Sheila Reid
www.thestar.com/business/is-... #AI
www.thestar.com/business/is-... #AI
The New Balance 1906L is a hybrid sneaker/loafer, a mashup between subculture and mass-culture #design that may broaden sneaker style and appeal, but don't call it a "snoafer," explains @ctrlzee.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91423787/new... #shoes #sneaker
www.fastcompany.com/91423787/new... #shoes #sneaker
The story behind the most influential sneaker in years
The New Balance 1906L has stretched the definition of sneaker and resuscitated the loafer industry. Just don’t call it a ‘snoafer.’
www.fastcompany.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The New Balance 1906L is a hybrid sneaker/loafer, a mashup between subculture and mass-culture #design that may broaden sneaker style and appeal, but don't call it a "snoafer," explains @ctrlzee.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91423787/new... #shoes #sneaker
www.fastcompany.com/91423787/new... #shoes #sneaker
Want to opt out of #AI 'cause it'll make you stupid? Unfortunately, the technology is quickly becoming inescapable, so a better strategy to deal with its downsides is needed, argues Rebecca Heilweil
www.fastcompany.com/91429000/art...
www.fastcompany.com/91429000/art...
AI abstinence won’t work
A consumer movement against artificial intelligence is misaligned with the business model—and the threat.
www.fastcompany.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Want to opt out of #AI 'cause it'll make you stupid? Unfortunately, the technology is quickly becoming inescapable, so a better strategy to deal with its downsides is needed, argues Rebecca Heilweil
www.fastcompany.com/91429000/art...
www.fastcompany.com/91429000/art...
Amazon's "Help me decide" feature is just another, but more obvious, way in which #AI is being integrated into ppl's shopping practices—and just in time for Xmas!—explains @gracesnelling.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91427815/ama...
www.fastcompany.com/91427815/ama...
Okay, Amazon’s new AI shopping feature is actually pretty helpful
Amazon's new 'Help me decide' feature is designed to cut down on the time you're spending comparing products.
www.fastcompany.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Amazon's "Help me decide" feature is just another, but more obvious, way in which #AI is being integrated into ppl's shopping practices—and just in time for Xmas!—explains @gracesnelling.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91427815/ama...
www.fastcompany.com/91427815/ama...
Recent moves by #OpenAI seem aimed to leverage Tik-Tok bait (Sora 2) and sexy-talk to produce revenues at the expense of its initial, high-minded ideas about building the economy, etc., explains @notrobwalker.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91428080/its... #AI
www.fastcompany.com/91428080/its... #AI
It's getting harder to take OpenAI seriously
Introducing slop and sex creates some serious risk to a brand built on world-changing idealism.
www.fastcompany.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Recent moves by #OpenAI seem aimed to leverage Tik-Tok bait (Sora 2) and sexy-talk to produce revenues at the expense of its initial, high-minded ideas about building the economy, etc., explains @notrobwalker.bsky.social
www.fastcompany.com/91428080/its... #AI
www.fastcompany.com/91428080/its... #AI
The Auditor General points out that the Canadian Revenue Agency is taking risks developing a #chatbot to answer tax questions when it's own staff struggle to answer questions accurately, explains Justin Escoto
www.thestar.com/politics/fed... #AI
www.thestar.com/politics/fed... #AI
AI experts say CRA must fix human responses before pursuing AI
OTTAWA - Experts in artificial intelligence say it's risky for the Canada Revenue Agency to turn to artificial intelligence to help Canadians with their tax problems when human call centre
www.thestar.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:16 PM
The Auditor General points out that the Canadian Revenue Agency is taking risks developing a #chatbot to answer tax questions when it's own staff struggle to answer questions accurately, explains Justin Escoto
www.thestar.com/politics/fed... #AI
www.thestar.com/politics/fed... #AI
Chileans worry that plans for data centers to drive #AI use will consume more water than communities can sustain while doing too little for local employment and industry, explains @paulmozur.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
How Chile Embodies A.I.’s No-Win Politics
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Chileans worry that plans for data centers to drive #AI use will consume more water than communities can sustain while doing too little for local employment and industry, explains @paulmozur.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
Driven by uptake of #AI, data centers consume large amounts of electricity and water, stressing local resources, sometimes in impoverished areas, around the world, explain @paulmozur.bsky.social, @satariano.bsky.social & Emiliano Rodríguez Mega
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Driven by uptake of #AI, data centers consume large amounts of electricity and water, stressing local resources, sometimes in impoverished areas, around the world, explain @paulmozur.bsky.social, @satariano.bsky.social & Emiliano Rodríguez Mega
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t... #sustainability
Recent events have prompted a return to #bicycle mobilty, and uptake of #ebikes, in #cities like Montreal, with health and #traffic benefits, though culture warriors see the trend as "woke anti-car fanaticism"
www.economist.com/internationa...
www.economist.com/internationa...
Forget EVs. Cycling is revolutionising transport
Pedal power is booming, spinning up a new culture war
www.economist.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Recent events have prompted a return to #bicycle mobilty, and uptake of #ebikes, in #cities like Montreal, with health and #traffic benefits, though culture warriors see the trend as "woke anti-car fanaticism"
www.economist.com/internationa...
www.economist.com/internationa...