The Connected Minds Conference 2025 promises to be a dynamic and inspiring gathering, where ideas and innovation come alive. This October, we’ll convene academics, industry leaders, and policymakers with the Connected Minds community to explore the intersection of technology, health, and society. Through engaging panel discussions, insightful keynotes, and rich conversations, participants will delve into critical topics shaping our world.
The conference will feature vibrant poster sessions and exhibitions from leading organizations and partners, showcasing advancements that push boundaries and spark new possibilities. Beyond the sessions, it’s an opportunity to network, exchange knowledge, and collaborate across disciplines in a setting designed to foster creativity and transformative thinking. Whether you come to share, learn, or connect, the Connected Minds Academic Conference is your platform to help shape the future!
We’re pleased to welcome Michael Inzlicht from the University of Toronto, Scarborough as the opening keynote speaker for our conference. His talk, “In Praise of Empathic AI,” explores how AI can simulate empathy, the potential benefits for emotional support, and the ethical considerations of using AI in human-centered areas like mental health.
**Please note that the Opening Keynote will be at the Second Student Centre (2nd Floor) and the Arts Reception will be held in the Accolade East Building (CIBC Lobby). The conference on October 7 and 8 will be held at the Second Student Centre.
Registration is now open! Click here to register.
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Admission Type |
Admission Fee | |
|---|---|---|
|
Faculty and General Admission |
$190 | |
|
Post-Doctoral Fellows |
$100 | |
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Graduate Students |
$85 | |
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Undergraduate Students |
$60 | |
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Conference Banquet |
$85 |
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
OPENING KEYNOTE
Michael Inzlicht
Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough
SOCIAL MEDIA, AI, AND MENTAL HEALTH
S. Shyam Sundar
Evan Pugh University Professor and James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects, Penn State University
Munmun De Choudhury
J.Z. Liang Associate Professor, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Emma Duerden
Associate Professor and CRC in Neuroscience & Learning Disorders, Western University
TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMOTE HEALTH AND EMBODIMENT
Alan Kingstone
Professor and Distinguished Scholar, University of British Columbia
Karon MacLean
Professor, CRC in Interactive Human Systems Design, Director, UBC Designing for People Research Cluster, University of British Columbia
Ivar Mendez
Professor Emeritus and Director of the Virtual Care and Remote Presence Robotics Programs, University of Saskatchewan
MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
Jennifer Campos
Professor, CRC in Multisensory Integration & Aging, University of Toronto, Associate Director-Academic & Senior Scientist at KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Associate Scientific Director at AGE-WELL
David Lepofsky
Visiting Professor of Disability Rights, Faculty of Law at University of Western Ontario and of the University of Ottawa, Chair, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance
Ron Buliung
University of Toronto, Distinguished Professor, Geographies of Disability and Ableism, Department of Geography, Geomatics & Environment, University of Toronto Mississauga, UofT Rehabilitation Sciences Institute
SOCIAL ROBOTS IN HEALTH
Goldie Nejat
CRC in Intelligent Assistive & Collaborative Robots, Professor & Director of the Autonomous Systems & Biomechatronics Lab, University of Toronto, and Adjunct Scientist at KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute & Rotman Research Institute
Maja Mataric
Chan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics, University of Southern California
APPLICATIONS AND RISKS OF LLMS
Helena Gómez Adorno
Professor, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Ebrahim Bagheri
Professor, University of Toronto and Co-Founder of Reviewerly
BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACES AND SOCIETY
Anna Wexler
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Mariska Vansteensel
Associate Professor, UMC Utrecht Brain Center
Ian Burkhart
Founder of BCI Pioneers Coalition and President of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium
CLOSING BANQUET
Marshall Rothstein
Former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Connected Minds invites researchers, creators, and innovators from all disciplines to submit an abstract for our 2025 conference, taking place October 6–8, 2025. We welcome submissions that explore the dynamic relationships between people and intelligent technologies, especially those that intersect with our three key pillars:
- Society: Work that explores how technology connects with culture, community, education, policy, or the arts—from ethics and law to digital media, social systems, and Indigenous knowledge.
- Neuroscience and Behaviour: Projects focused on the human side of tech—how our brains, bodies, and behaviours shape and are shaped by our interactions with technology.
- Intelligent Technologies: Research and innovation in fields like artificial intelligence, robotics, human-computer interaction, or emerging digital tools that collaborate with or respond to people.
If any aspect of your work touches on these ideas, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into one category, we encourage you to submit. This conference is a space for interdisciplinary thinking, unexpected connections, and bold ideas.
Abstract submissions are now closed
For more details on the Connected Minds pillars, visit our website.
Please Note: The deadline for abstract submissions is September 5, 2025.
Black and Indigenous Travel Award
Funding will cover the cost of basic economy travel to and from the applicant’s home, accommodations in Toronto, and the conference registration fee associated with attending the Connected Minds conference.
To be eligible, applicants must identify as either Black (American, Canadian, African, and/or Caribbean) or Indigenous Peoples of Canada (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis). In addition, the applicant must submit an abstract and present a poster at the conference.
The application for the travel award can be found on SurveyMonkey, and asks for self-identification information.
Early Career Researcher Travel Award
An early career researcher is a researcher within five years from the date of their first research-related appointment, minus eligible delays in research where: a) research-related appointments are defined as those where the individual has the autonomy to conduct research independently; and b) all eligible leaves (e.g., maternity, parental, medical, bereavement) are credited as twice the amount of time taken, and professional leaves (e.g., training, sabbatical, administrative) are not credited.
This travel award will cover the cost of basic economy travel to and from the applicant’s home, accommodations in Toronto, and the conference registration fee associated with attending the Connected Minds conference.
To be eligible, applicants must be an early career researcher (see definition above). In addition, the applicant must submit an abstract and present a poster at the conference.
The application for the Travel Award can be found on SurveyMonkey.
Please Note: This opportunity is not open to Connected Minds members of funded Trainees at York or Queen's.
The Connected Minds arts reception will mark the opening of the conference. It will feature guest speakers, including short talks from our Artists-in-Residence, an opportunity to interact with art installations, networking, and light refreshments.
Michael Adam Murray
CEO, Ontario Arts Council
Michael Murray was appointed CEO of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) in July 2022. He brings wide-ranging leadership experience in the professional not-for-profit arts sector and cultural industries provincially, nationally and internationally.
Previously, Michael was Director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) Performer’s Rights Society. He also served as Executive Director for the Toronto Musicians’ Association, Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (2015-2021), and as the OAC’s Popular and World Music and Arts Service Organizations Officer (2007-2015).
Michael began his career as a professional musician, producer and songwriter in Montréal. Later, he was named Executive Director of UrbanArts, a community arts council in Toronto that engages youth facing socioeconomic barriers in community building through the arts.
Michael holds an MBA with a specialization in Arts and Media Management from the Schulich School of Business (York University). He is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and holds an Honours Bachelor of Music from McGill University.
Ar Ducao
Ar Ducao (they/them pronouns) is an artist, engineer, educator, and organizer who works with underrepresented and incarcerated learners. They cofounded Multimer, a patent-holding bio-spatial analytics firm awarded by the National Science Foundation SBIR (small business innovation research) program. They are also executive producer and lead creator of The Great Tit is a Bird, a sci-fi arthouse animation series and audio drama. Ducao is a part-time professor at NYU School of Engineering, NYU Prison Program, and MIT MITES. They advise the Black women’s empowerment groups Inua Kike and Birth by Us, the Callen Lorde LGBTQ+ Health Center, and the National Eczema Association.
Gala Hernández López
Gala Hernández López is an artist, filmmaker, and researcher whose interdisciplinary practice combines film, video installations, performance, and publications. Her work critically examines computational capitalism’s impact on subjectivity, exploring virtual imaginaries, tech utopias, and human fantasies of control from an ecofeminist perspective. Her award-winning creations, including the César-winning La Mécanique des fluides (2024), have been showcased at major festivals and institutions worldwide. A PhD candidate at Paris 8, she also teaches and directs After Social Networks. She is currently in residence at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. She is working on Dreams of Prophets, a film about the history of dream engineering technologies.
Looking to explore Toronto? Within a 10-minute walk of Toronto's subway line with direct access to York University, these hotels will allow you to easily explore Toronto’s downtown attractions, restaurants, and cultural sites. Note that these hotels are an approximately 30-minute subway ride away.
Prefer accommodations closer to the venue? These hotels are conveniently located in Vaughan, within close proximity to York University.
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: SOCIAL MEDIA, AI, AND MENTAL HEALTH
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMOTE HEALTH AND EMBODIMENT
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: SOCIAL ROBOTS IN HEALTH
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: APPLICATIONS AND RISKS OF LLMS
SESSION CO-CHAIRS: BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACES AND SOCIETY
3PM - 4PM: Opening Keynote
Convention Centre (Second Student Centre)
Michael Inzlicht, University of Toronto
As rates of loneliness rise and emotional support becomes harder to find, could AI offer a surprising solution? Michael Inzlicht explores the promise and perils of empathic AI, drawing on research that shows how AI-generated empathy can sometimes be experienced as equal to or even preferred over human responses. Yet, alongside this promise lies risk: empathic AI may also reinforce poor thinking or delusional beliefs, with troubling implications for mental health. This keynote will explore the tension between the potential of empathic AI to fill gaps in human connection and the dangers of its sycophantic tendencies, inviting reflection on how society should integrate this technology into our emotional lives.
4PM - 7PM: Opening Arts Reception
Accolade East Building (CIBC Lobby)
The Connected Minds arts reception will mark the opening of the conference. It will feature guest speakers, including short talks from our Artists-in-Residence, an opportunity to interact with art installations, networking, and light refreshments.
Convention Centre (Second Student Centre)
8AM - 9AM: Registration
9AM - 9:30AM: Opening Remarks
9:30AM - 11AM: Brain Computer Interfaces and Society
Once confined to research labs, implantable Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are now entering real-world clinical use, thanks to rapid advances and massive investment from companies like Neuralink and Synchron and more. With over 25 clinical trials underway, the field is shifting fast from science fiction to standard of care. As this technological race accelerates, so too must our attention to the ethical, legal, and social questions it raises. This session invites attendees to navigate the human implications of BCI technologies.
11AM - 11:20AM: Break
11:20AM - 12:50PM: Indigenous Data Sovereignty in the Techno-Social Age
12:50PM - 1:50PM: Lunch and Networking
1:50PM - 3:20PM: Social Media, AI, and Mental Health
This session explores the impacts of social media on mental health and how AI technologies can potentially amplify these impacts.
3:20PM - 3:45PM: Break
3:45PM - 5:30PM: Technologies for Remote Health & Embodiment
How can technology connect us to places, people, experiences and care from afar? This session digs into remote health and embodiment, asking what we gain and risk when tech brings minds, machines, and bodies together.
Convention Centre (Second Student Centre)
9AM - 10:30AM: Applications and Risks of LLMs
This session explores how large language models are being integrated into diverse sectors including health, law, manufacturing, mining, banking, and other service industries. While their potential is vast, the risks are equally significant—ranging from hallucinations and biased outputs to regulatory complexities and accountability gaps. Participants will hear from researchers and practitioners with extensive experience navigating these challenges and developing responsible, real-world applications.
10:30AM - 10:50AM: Break
10:50AM - 12:35PM: Mobility and Accessibility
This session explores how mobility and accessibility are being reshaped by technological, social, and policy developments. The conversation will span topics from aging and multisensory integration to disability advocacy and inclusive urban design, and invites attendees to critically engage with emerging futures of access and movement.
12:35PM - 1:35PM: Lunch and Networking
1:35PM - 3:05PM: Social Robots in Health
From physical rehabilitation to mental health, socially assistive robots have the potential to address current healthcare crises by providing effective, timely, and personalized care across populations. Our panel of experts at the forefront of this research will discuss the multifaceted technical and social challenges of developing and integrating such robots to empower their users and working across disciplines and stakeholders to tackle these challenges in a responsible way.