Current discussions of the metaverse and the increase in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) adoption make this an opportune time to consider how data can, is, and could be employed in virtual reality and immersive environments. In VR/AR, people exist as data. These data provide opportunities for research and innovation, but also commodification and surveillance. As part of the DSI@UTM’s focus on Responsible Data Science, the Data and the Metaverse event seeks to imagine future possibilities, challenges, and implications of data creation, collection, analysis, and deployment in the metaverse.
Join us to explore the future of data and the metaverse. Leading researchers and practitioners will present on the metaverse from varying perspectives of information practices, social interaction, public policy, as well as computer science and design. The day will include opportunities for break out discussions, as well as an opportunity to experience VR/AR.
This event will be in-person on February 24, 2023.
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10:00-11:00 am |
Registration Breakfast and networking VR/AR Experience |
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11:00-11:05 am |
Welcome Lisa Strug, Director, Data Sciences Institute |
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11:05-11:30 am |
Present and Accounted For: Implication of Virtual Existence as Data in the Metaverse Bree McEwan, Institute for Communication, Culture, and Information Technology Associate Director, DSI@UTM |
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11:30am -12:30pm |
Panel Perspectives Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia James McCrae, Magic Leap Luke Stark, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, University of Western Ontario Daniel Wigdor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto and Meta Reality Labs Moderator: Bree McEwan |
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12:30–1:30 pm |
Networking Lunch VR/AR Experience |
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1:30– 2:30 pm |
Blue Sky Breakout Discussions |
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2:30 - 3:40 pm |
Breakout report back and Q & A with panel |
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3:40 – 3:45 pm |
Closing Remarks Bree McEwan |
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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn
Director, Centre for the Advancement of Computer-Human Ecosystems, CACHE
Associate Professor
Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication
University of Georgia
Dr. Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn’s main program of research investigates how interactive digital media such as virtual and augmented reality transform traditional rules of communication and social interactions, looking at how virtual experiences shape the way that people think, feel, and behave in the physical world. Her work is supported by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and is published in numerous top-tier outlets in the fields of communication, health, and engineering. She is the recipient of the Mary Alice Shaver Promising Professor Award from the American Academy of Advertising, the inaugural Early Career Award from the National Communication Association’s Health Communication Division, and the Krieghbaum Under-40 Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
James McCrae
Senior Manager, Magic Leap
Dr. James McCrae works with the System Application Team at Magic Leap. His group develops many of the core user-facing software applications for the Magic Leap 2 Augmented Reality device. Previously, he was the CEO and co-founder of immersive web startup Janus VR. He studied at the University of Toronto, working in the DGP lab with supervisor Professor Karan Singh. His research was on planar section representations of 3D shapes, and before that he explored problems in 3D navigation, curve fairing, and sketch-based interfaces. He is a founder and creator of the flatfab modelling software. He is the recipient of the University of Toronto’s Inventor of the Year award, and the Alain Fournier Award for best Canadian Computer Graphics Dissertation.
Bree McEwan
Associate Professor
Institute for Communication, Culture, and Information Technology
University of Toronto Mississauga
Associate Director, DSI@UTM
Dr. Bree McEwan’s research focuses on the intersection between interpersonal communication and communication technology. Her book Navigating New Media Networks explores how communication technology, in particular social media facilitates interpersonal communication processes and relationships. She has published two measures, the Facebook Relational Maintenance measure, and the Perceived Social Affordances of Communication Channels scale. Her recent projects involve tests of an original theory of online information diffusion, the Mediated Skewed Diffusion of Issues Information theory, and exploring how people interact within virtual reality environments.
Luke Stark
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Information & Media Studies
University of Western Ontario
Dr. Luke Stark’s work interrogates the historical, social, and ethical impacts of computing and artificial intelligence technologies, particularly those mediating social and emotional expression. He completed his PhD in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University in 2016 and holds an Honours BA and MA in History from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining FIMS, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency and Ethics (FATE) Group at Microsoft Research in Montreal, QC, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Dartmouth College, and a Fellow and Affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Lisa Strug
Director, Data Sciences Institute
Director, Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI), Ontario Region
Professor, Departments, Computer Science and Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto
Senior Scientist, Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children
Dr. Lisa Strug is the inaugural Director of the Data Sciences Institute, a tri-campus, multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary hub for data science activity at the University of Toronto and affiliated Research Institutes. Dr. Strug holds several other leadership positions at the University of Toronto including the Director of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute Ontario Region (CANSSI Ontario), and at the Hospital for Sick Children as Associate Director of the Centre for Applied Genomics and the Lead of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Gene Modifier Consortium and the Biology of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy International Consortium. She is a statistical geneticist, and her research focuses on the development of novel statistical approaches to analyze and integrate multi-omics data to identify genetic contributors to complex human disease. She has received several honours including the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Genome Data Science.
Daniel Wigdor
Professor and associate chair, partnerships and innovation, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
Director, Research Science, Meta Reality Labs
Dr. Daniel Wigdor’s area of research is the leveraging of computing technology to enable people to live better lives. This work includes the study of human uses of technologies, of basic human needs and capabilities, and the development of technologies to help meet those needs given their capabilities. These technologies include sensing methods, operating system architectures, development platforms, interaction methods, AI systems, and human-AI interaction. Talks about his work may be found online: haptics & high performance UX, post-WIMP user interfaces, and the symphony of devices.
