The Data Sciences Institute (DSI) at the University of Toronto hosts the annual Questioning Reality: Explorations of Virtual Reality conference where leading scholars, industry professionals, and VR enthusiasts are invited to discuss the future of virtual reality (VR) and its impact on social interactions.

The conference is led by Bree McEwan, DSI lead for Responsible Data Science and associate professor in the Institute for Communication, Culture, and Information Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, director of the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems and professor at the University of Georgia.

The 2025 Questioning Reality conference will feature speaker, Dr. Pablo Pérez, a unique researcher in the extended reality (XR) field in that he understands both technical challenges and social communication processes related to improving human interactions via immersive technologies.

Pérez is the lead researcher in Nokia’s XR labs in Madrid, Spain, drawing on his extensive experience in both academic and industry environments. His work helps us to understand the way that visual images and communication processes come together to create rich and meaningful co-presence in mediated environments.

Profs. McEwan and Ahn invited Dr. Pérez on the challenges faced by VR as artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated into VR social experiences, including generative imagery and large language models that run virtual agents.

“Developments in artificial intelligence will drive the next generation of immersive environments, whether it is making the metaverse come alive through virtual imagery generated in real-time or interacting with virtual agents who might populate these virtual scenes, ” says Prof. McEwan.

Following the talk, Prof. Ahn will lead a fireside chat with Dr. Pérez to explore the themes of his talk, and to moderate questions from the audience. A reception will follow the talk wherein audience members can engage in discussions regarding the impact of AI and virtual agents on human communication and explore virtual worlds with VR technology provided by the UTM Communication in Virtual Environments (CoVE) Lab.

The talk and reception are co-sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology & Society (SRI). The Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven grantmaking institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. SRI’s mission is to deepen knowledge of technologies, societies, and what it means to be human by integrating research across traditional boundaries and building human-centred solutions that really make a difference. The talk is hosted at the Schwartz Innovation Campus at the heart of Toronto’s innovation district.