The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy examines how media and emerging technologies shape democracy.
The rapidly shifting digital landscape is reshaping our society, our economy, and our democracy. The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy (MTD) at McGill University is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to understanding and responding to the social, political, and policy challenges posed by our evolving information ecosystem and digital technologies.
Canadians Don't Trust AI. Here's How to Fix That.
Canada's government wants Canadians to adopt artificial intelligence, but many remain deeply skeptical. In this video, Taylor Owen (Founding Director of the Centre) explores the growing gap between public trust and government ambition when it comes to AI—and what it will take to close it. This gap led to the creation of Canada's AI Strategy Task Force, to which Taylor Owen was appointed in September 2025.
The focus of his work was to answer a question that a lot of Canadians have right now: How do we actually make this technology safe? Drawing on real-world examples, recent lawsuits and lessons learned from the rise of social media, Owen argues that concerns about AI reflect issues of consumer safety and accountability, rather than simply a lack of literacy or training. He examines how unregulated AI systems have already caused harm, particularly to youth and vulnerable users.
This isn't an argument for a sweeping AI law. But if the government wants Canadians to use AI, then they need to make sure it's safe.
You can read Taylor Owen's full AI Task Force memo on governance, safety and trust here.
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Machines Like Us is a technology show about people.
We are living in an age of breakthroughs propelled by advances in artificial intelligence. Technologies that were once the realm of science fiction will become our reality: robot best friends, bespoke gene editing, brain implants that make us smarter.
Every other Tuesday Taylor Owen sits down with the people shaping this rapidly approaching future. He’ll speak with entrepreneurs building world-changing technologies, lawmakers trying to ensure they’re safe, and journalists and scholars working to understand how they’re transforming our lives.
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When the pandemic hit in 2020, it suddenly seemed like conspiracy theories were everywhere. And a recent poll found that 1 in 4 Canadians believe in online conspiracy theories. We’re no longer just living in different information bubbles. We’re living in different realities. On this season of Screen Time, Taylor Owen and Supriya Dwivedi dive into the murky world of online conspiracy theories and misinformation, trying and understand how we got there – and how we might bring us back.
![Screen Time: Battle for Reality S2E6 — The Top of the Pyramid [Season finale]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ea874746663b45e14a384a4/1705442090928-MN16JHHWAM2WR6BB2KHW/ScreenTime_2_Inst_Cover_1080x1080.jpg)
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Depending who you ask, big tech is either going to save humanity or destroy us. Taylor Owen thinks it’s a little more complicated than that. Join him in conversation with leading thinkers as they make sense of a world transformed by technology.Goes Here
