As Silicon Valley flirts with the idea of artificial consciousness, Michael Pollan's new book A World Appears asks what consciousness actually is, where it comes from, and why the answer matters more than ever.
Nate Soares didn't move on from the existential risk conversation. His book with Eliezer Yudkowsky argues that if we keep going down the path we're on, it will lead to our collective extinction. If there's a chance he's right, we need to hear him out.
After OpenAI's failure to report a shooter's flagged conversations to law enforcement, the instinct is to demand mandatory reporting. But the better path is upstream regulation that changes how these products are built.
New research from our centre measures how AI models handle Canadian news. The findings: no source attribution 82% of the time — and the evidence suggests this is a design choice, not a technical limitation.
OpenAI's voluntary commitments to Minister Solomon are welcome but reinforce the case for legislation. Plus, a conversation with The Decibel on why online harms and AI consumer safety are one problem.
After OpenAI flagged the Tumbler Ridge shooter's conversations but didn't alert Canadian law enforcement, Helen Hayes and I sent a memo to Ministers Solomon and Miller arguing that AI chatbots must be scoped into the forthcoming Online Harms Act.
Opening statement before the House Standing Committee on Science and Research on AI, drawing on my submission to the National AI Strategy Task Force.
Something very weird happened: AI agents got their own social media network. In a bonus episode of Machines Like Us, Derek Ruths and I try to make sense of what this means.
A conversation with Ava Smithing and Sneha Revanur — two of the most influential young voices in tech policy — about AI, democracy, and what their generation sees that the rest of us don't.
The 'if we don't build it, they will' framing treats the AI race with China as orthodoxy. But I don't think the arms race framing is accurate.
The global competition over who designs, manufactures, and controls access to advanced semiconductors may be the most consequential technological story of our time.
Instead of a permanent ban on kids using social media, Helen Hayes and I make the case for a temporary moratorium tied to the establishment of a digital safety regulator.
Not just more productive or efficient lives — genuinely better ones. A conversation with Rutger Bregman about AI and human flourishing.
Today we are publicly releasing my submission to the National AI Strategy Task Force on the theme of trust and safety. It argues that closing Canada's AI governance gap requires action on three fronts.
A new survey shows most Canadians don't trust AI — and they especially don't trust the companies building it. This raises a fundamental question for policymakers.
The information landscape in Canada is fracturing. Three major threats to Canadian democracy — and whether we have the tools and the will to respond.
Canada is debating whether to ban kids under 14 from social media. That we're even considering such a blunt instrument tells you something important about the last decade of digital governance.
Season 3 of Machines Like Us kicks off with four predictions for how AI will reshape our world in 2026.
Gary Marcus has been one of the most persistent and vocal critics of the current AI hype cycle. In this conversation, he makes his strongest case yet that we are in an AI bubble.
The now-famous photo from the Trump inauguration — tech billionaires seated ahead of the cabinet — tells a story about where power resides in America. A conversation with Carole Cadwalladr.
AI can now generate music that sounds like your favourite artists. Ed Newton-Rex — who left Stability AI over this issue — explains why he thinks the entire model is built on theft.
Last week Montreal hosted a remarkable gathering of researchers, policymakers, and civil society leaders working on digital governance. A few reflections.
Our new report on the 2025 federal election finds that political influencers are reshaping how Canadians engage with politics online — and traditional media is losing ground fast.
One of the founders of deep learning is saying we need to slow down and think carefully about what we're building. We should listen.
Thrilled to announce that Anna Jahn has joined the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy as Executive Director.
The National AI Strategy Task Force has been announced. Here's why I think the governance conversation needs to be at the centre of Canada's AI strategy.
Ava Smithing's new documentary podcast about what happens when you hand kids the most powerful technology in history — and then walk away.
I was writing a reference letter for a former student, and re-reading their incredibly thoughtful essay from my class 5 years ago. It hit me that we will never be able to assign essays like that again.
AI is transforming higher education in ways that most institutions are not prepared for. A conversation with Niall Ferguson and Connor Grennan about what comes next.
A look back at 25 conversations from the first season of Machines Like Us, and what comes next.
For as long as I can remember, Canadians have felt two things about America — and they're deeply in tension. With less than a week before the federal election, I sat down with Jim Balsillie to ask how we might build a stronger, more sovereign Canada.
In 2019, Canada was remarkably resilient to disinformation threats. Fast forward to 2025, and almost everything that gave us resilience is getting much, much worse.
Observations from the Paris AI Action Summit on the repositioning of the AI industry, the precarious state of AI governance, and the geopolitical fracture ahead.
The Online Harms Act has been tabled. My initial read of the new regulator, the three duties, and the transparency requirements.