Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society
The world is evolving toward a new “techno-social” collective composed of both humans and intelligent artificial agents. While the potential benefits are extensive, disruptive technologies may also create unexpected or harmful societal consequences, especially in equity-deserving communities. The research initiative will address this global challenge through a unique initiative: Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society.
The vision of the research initiative is to co-create and co-lead socially responsible, community-engaged research that produces innovative technologies, policies and regulations that optimize the benefits and mitigate the risks of the new techno-social collective. The initiative’s strategic goals are to:
- achieve global research excellence;
- attract and retain the best talent;
- amplify knowledge mobilization and commercialization; and
- promote success of Indigenous Peoples and other equity-deserving groups.
York University is well placed to lead this initiative, with traditional strengths in arts, social sciences, law and social justice, a proven collaborative ecosystem spanning neuroscience, engineering, arts and humanities, and effective partner engagement and commercialization. Queen’s University complements these strengths with internationally renowned socially responsible, interdisciplinary health research and education programs, combining AI and robotics with population and brain-health methodologies. The interdisciplinary research group thus spans life sciences, engineering and humanities to pursue our goals across three investigational themes:
- co-creating research for societal needs and predicted impact;
- fundamentals of social interaction: neural, algorithmic and social networks; and
- designing and developing socially responsible technologies.
Connected Minds will fund the hiring of 35 strategic faculty members; partner-focused seed, team and prototyping grants; knowledge mobilization and commercialization events; and an ambitious multi-institutional microcredential training program with 385 trainees and cross-sector stakeholders. All activities will require interdisciplinary participation and will prioritize projects that benefit Indigenous Peoples and other equity-deserving groups.
With CFREF funding, Connected Minds will lead Canada and the world in the socially responsible creation and adoption of scientific and technological innovation to promote a healthy, resilient and just techno-social collective. The initiative will advance Canada’s science, technology and innovation priorities and have a broad, enduring impact on how research is conducted in Canada.