mathewiantorno.com - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

My fellow graduate students, if you need a reason to resist GenAI/AI and organize around the issue, I've got one for you: "Is there going to be a point in the foreseeable future that much of what graduate student teaching assistants do can be done by A.I.?" [a professor] said. "Yeah, absolutely.”

submitted 14 hours ago • 0 comments

Some unfortunate news from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. It looks like Congress 2026 has stalled out due to financial/logistical issues, and the future of the event may be in jeopardy. cha-shc.ca/announcement...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Happy to announce that I'll be participating in Toronto Games Week (@torontogamesweek.com) this year. I'll be doing a short talk about Spellbinder, a tabletop game that takes advantage of the Little Free Library network, as well as running a demo. 🎲🧙 torontogamesweek.com/schedule.html

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Unethical researchers have been secretly experimenting on Reddit Infiltrating r/changemymind with undisclosed AI conversations, they deceived users (+violated sub rules) to 'assess LLM persuasiveness' 😒 Redditors call it shameful, infuriating & very disturbing www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

submitted 7 days ago • 2 comments

At a certain point, do they just stop letting customers into the store. www.torontotoday.ca/local/scienc...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

To follow up on this, Toronto banned delivery robots in 2021 after companies such as Tiny Mile began beta testing them on our streets. This ban was to remain in place until a provincial pilot project was developed - and it looks like Ontario is moving forward on that front.

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

Here we go again. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

submitted 10 days ago • 1 comment

"Starbucks is planning to hire more baristas, get them to work more hours at its coffee shops and roll back its embrace of automation, as the company’s new leadership battles to turn the chain around." www.theguardian.com/business/202...

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Individuals and companies are trying to backdoor AI-generated content into our lives to normalize it as quickly as possible. Physical books are part of this, and it's disconcerting to think how many are already in circulation in libraries and bookstores. www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfu...

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

🗳️ It's election day in Canada! Polls are open 9:30am - 9:30pm in Toronto. You can find your riding/polling station on the Elections Canada website. www.elections.ca/home.aspx

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Another example of obtrusive AI features. ProQuest Ebook Central now launches an AI helper as soon as you open a book and offers an unsolicited summary.

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Grocery prices will go up... but will Loblaws profits go down? www.blogto.com/eat_drink/20...

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

I’m quoted in the Toronto Star today to explain how digital platforms make us “height police” our 🇨🇦 politicians as if they were online celebrities or Hinge matches 🫢 How does your pick measure up? 📐

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

All slop, all the way down. posthuman.blog/this-reddit-...

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Watching demonstrations like this really tempers my expectations for ambulatory robots in the near future. For instance, Musk keeps pitching the Optimus as being able to do everything, from picking up groceries to serving drinks. But can it even climb stairs reliably? www.wired.com/story/beijin...

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

I've been working on a tabletop game project involving Little Free Libraries, and it's making me think I could write a conference paper about quasi-public urban amenities in Toronto. Who is encouraged to use these libraries, who is discouraged, which neighbourhoods have them, etc. 📚

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

Love that Canada became a global mall juggernaut on the basis of us hating the weather in our own country.

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

The recurring argument I've seen in favour of AI platforms is that they help offload wrote, repetitive tasks. Apparently some people see calling their parents as a wrote, repetitive task. 😶 www.404media.co/i-tested-the...

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

Salut toi! 🦣Mammoth Island is happy to announce that Spellbinder is now available in French! ⚜️You can download free French + English versions of the game and zine on Itch: mammothisland.itch.io/spellbinder 🧙‍♂️And if you're in Montreal, keep an eye on your Little Free Library for tiny wizards.

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

As always, I'm worried that the wayfinding tech built into delivery robots (and autonomous vehicles, for that matter) isn't up to standard yet. There's a reason they're currently banned in Toronto.

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

I've had a hard time seeing AI features like these as anything but UX clutter. But, of course, they're always on by default and difficult (or impossible) to turn off.

submitted 34 days ago • 1 comment

🗳️ Candidates for the federal election were finalized yesterday! You can see who's running in your riding on the Elections Canada website. www.elections.ca/scripts/vis/...

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

Published this article with @theconversationca.bsky.social last week and it's (distressingly) only become more timely since. It's time to rethink supermarkets in Canada.🍁 theconversation.com/trumps-tarif...

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

We are pleased to announce that internationally renowned media philosopher Yuk Hui will be delivering the 2025 ICCIT Annual Lecture. Join us in CDRS at UTM on April 16: www.eventbrite.ca/e/iccit-annu...

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Looks like tech companies are moving fast to foster a dependency on AI within academia.

submitted 40 days ago • 1 comment

Noodling on writing something about security technologies in the checkout aisle. It's amazing how much companies have been investing in scanners, scales, cameras, and gates to make self-checkouts work.

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Looks like the full program for CCA 2025 is out! Looking forward to seeing you all in Toronto in June. www.openconf.org/CCA2025/modu...

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

I have a new piece in The Conversation on tariffs, technology, and Canadian supermarkets! 🇨🇦🛒

submitted 45 days ago • 2 comments

🍁🗳️ The Canadian election is coming up on April 28. Remember to register to vote if you haven't already! There's a lot riding on this one. ereg.elections.ca/en/ereg/index

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

Canadian grocery stores have been doing a decent job of pivoting away from American produce and products, but the rustic pile of maple-flavoured treats at the front door remains the big patriotic move. 🍁

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

I might need do document some of the no frills No Frills that Loblaws is rolling out. There's already been so much controversy. nowtoronto.com/news/no-fril...

submitted 49 days ago • 1 comment

Big tech bankruptcies and acquisitions really demonstrate how fungible data is, especially when the new company isn't obliged to adhere to the privacy or terms of service agreement of the old one.

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

"But after the company was bought by U.S. burger chain Wendy's, and later became part of a holding company backed by a Brazilian investment firm, did it forfeit its claim to Canadian identity?" ...yes? Obviously? Support local Canadian coffee chains. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

submitted 56 days ago • 1 comment

Starting to question whether self-checkouts can ever be profitable given the egregious amount of loss prevention technology Loblaws has had to invest in. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

submitted 57 days ago • 1 comment

It still floors me how fast the transition to self-checkouts has been in Canada. The flagship Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto has 15 self-checkouts compared to 10 traditional checkouts... of which only 3 were staffed when I visited.

submitted 57 days ago • 1 comment

Deleting my Facebook account this weekend. Feel like there was probably a better way to phrase this. 💀

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Yesterday, I was officially conferred a King Charles III Coronation Medal for my diversity & inclusion leadership as Don to Massey College (2021-22) and, by extension, the commonwealth 🇨🇦 No skin punctures!!! More news to come about the fab cohort I’ve joined! ✨🍰🎖️

submitted 62 days ago • 1 comment

"[M]uch like a chain saw or other useful [but] potentially dangerous tools, one must understand the tools they are using and use those tools with caution." All for the AI-as-chainsaw metaphor. www.404media.co/ai-lawyer-ha...

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments