Latest News
Dean Mostafa named Chair-Elect of iSchools Organization
Faculty of Information Dean Javed Mostafa has been voted Chair-Elect of the iSchools Organization. A long-term participant in iSchools, Dean Mostafa has been involved as both an independent academic member and as a dean, volunteering for key activities, providing organizational support, and helping to sponsor iSchools conferences and events. His election reflects both his leadership at the Faculty of Information and the Faculty’s long-standing involvement […]
Stop drinking water!
Sustainability lab launches provocative campaign highlighting AI’s hidden environmental costs In the halls of the Faculty of Information’s Bissell Building, and as far away as Silicon Valley and Melbourne, a series of unusual posters are sparking conversation and turning heads. The “Save the AI” project, created by Professor Christoph Becker’s Just Sustainability Design (JSD) Lab, uses irony, humour and data to highlight the significant, and often overlooked, environmental and social impact of generative AI. With tongue-in-cheek messages that ask people to conserve water and electricity “for the AI,” […]
Safeguarding justice in the age of AI
An AI Safety Solution Network designed to safeguard courts from synthetic AI content has launched and will be co-directed by Professor Ebrahim Bagheri of the Faculty of Information. The goal of the network, which will receive funding and operate under the Canadian AI Safety Institute Research Program at CIFAR, is to address the rising prevalence […]
Re-writing Romanian History
Using Romanian museums as an example, Professor Irina D.Mihalache is exploring how museums cope with political pressure.
Flags lowered in memory of Brian Cantwell Smith
The University of Toronto’s flags have been lowered to half mast today in memory of the late Professor and Dean Emeritus, Brian Cantwell Smith, who passed away on September 6th. Also in honour of Professor Smith’s passing, the Faculty of Information has posted an academic obituary, telling the story of his groundbreaking work in the […]
Obituary: Brian Cantwell Smith (1950 to 2025)
Former dean wove philosophy and computation into a lifelong inquiry into the human dimensions of intelligence, judgment, and meaning Born into a prominent Canadian family known for both its intellectual achievements and record of public service, Brian Cantwell Smith found his calling in the philosophical foundations of computing and artificial intelligence, emerging fields where he […]
‘Not on the Exam’ with Prof Evan Light
Associate Professor Evan Light arrived at the Faculty of Information from York University at the start of this year. He’s an expert in information policy, privacy, and democratizing technology and policy for positive social change. Light is also a frequent commentator in the media due to his ability to pithily sum up complex issues. That […]
Faculty of Information at ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Faculty of Information professors and students will have a strong presence at the 28th ACM SIGCHI Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW) taking place in Bergen Norway from October 18 to 22, 2025. CSCW is the premier venue for research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, communities, and […]
Hot off the press
A new issue of the Collaboratory for Black Poiēsis’s journal, Sankofa Currents, has been published. Read the journal
An MI grad’s self-portrait
For Jasmine Wemigwans, a recent Master of Information graduate, her return to painting wasn’t merely a creative outlet. It became a way to visually explore some of the most intriguing academic concepts she encountered during her MI studies. Prompted by an assignment and a desire to connect her studies to her Anishinaabe worldview, Wemigwans’ created […]
Resurrecting a digital relic
Professor Alan Galey and two of his PhD students bring a website that was an aughties pop culture phenomenon back to life.
Obituary: Professor Emeritus and former Dean Brian Cantwell Smith (1950 – 2025)
The Faculty of Information is deeply saddened to share that Professor Emeritus and former Dean Brian Cantwell Smith passed away on September 6, 2025, shortly after his retirement. A visionary scholar, leader, and mentor, Brian leaves behind an extraordinary legacy that has shaped our Faculty, the University of Toronto, and the broader academic community. Brian […]
Cluster Hire: Five New Faculty Positions at the Faculty of Information
The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto is advancing its academic vision through a strategic cluster hire. We are recruiting five new faculty members in the following areas: Human-Centred Data Sciences; Public Memory and Public Histories; Digital Curation and Cultural Heritage; Public AI and Cultural Institutions; and Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures. […]
‘Philosopher Dean’ Brian Cantwell Smith retires
Editor’s Note: We are saddened to share that Professor Emeritus and former Dean Brian Cantwell Smith passed away on September 6, 2025. His full academic obituary can be read here. For Brian Cantwell Smith, who officially retires this month, leadership has never been separate from ideas. As Dean of the Faculty of Information, he drew […]
Examining the impact of greenhouse growth
As Canada’s greenhouse sector expands rapidly, it’s become increasingly reliant on migrant labour to keep crops growing. This development has raised questions about the conditions of migrant workers, as well as new agricultural technologies and their impact on labour and the environment. It’s a field ripe for research, as PhD student Olivia Doggett has discovered. […]
Follow the ‘platform’ money
While many of the conversations about the power and influence of “Big Tech” focus on users, algorithms and content, Faculty of Information Professor David Nieborg looks at things through a different lens. His current research examines what he and his fellow researchers call “institutional platform power,” which they define as the ability of companies like […]
Legacy of learning
Family members honour former dean, Ann Schabas, with generous gift to the Faculty of Information The Schabas family has a long, proud history at the University of Toronto, where the late Ann Schabas, a woman who was quietly ahead of her time, served as Dean of the Faculty of Information from 1984 to 1990. Now, […]
Social agentics: Rethinking AI’s role in human worlds
By Michael Strizic, Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly embedded in everyday life, the challenge is no longer simply to understand how these systems function but how they shape, and are shaped by, the social contexts in which they operate. That challenge demands not just technical knowledge, but […]