Frontiers of AI: Insights from a Nobel Laureate (U of T x Desjardins Speaker Series)
This event is officially part of Toronto Tech Week 2025 - a weeklong citywide collection of events to connect and celebrate the builders. June 23 - 27, 2025.
It is also part of the Desjardins Speaker Series, delivered by U of T Entrepreneurship.
Visit the epicentre of AI innovation — Toronto's Discovery District — where modern artificial intelligence was crafted by Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton and continues to evolve through world-leading research and commercialization.
Join University Professor Emeritus and Nobel Prize winner, Geoffrey Hinton, for a candid conversation with Nick Frosst, Co-Founder of Cohere, on the opportunities, challenges, and obligations when building a new venture leveraging the power of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence adoption has quickly captured the public imagination and sparked important debates around the world. Governments, business leaders and global citizens are having critical conversations about whether and how AI should be regulated and what guardrails need to be in place to protect society. Advocates on both sides argue about both the enormous potential and risks of this disruptive technology. The rapid emergence of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) has accelerated this debate.
The fireside chat will cover a broad range of topics, including:
Canada’s place in the AI revolution
Do LLMs understand language in the same way as we do?
Reasons for optimism
Risks of AI
Is digital intelligence better than analog intelligence?
Frontiers of AI is a day of programming on June 25 delivered in partnership with the University of Toronto (U of T), MaRS and The Vector Institute, featuring a hands-on showcase of Canadian innovation that is shaping the global future of AI — take part in engaging conversations, demos, workshops and networking. Meet emerging and established leaders in AI, alongside decision-makers in business and tech.
Located in the heart of Toronto's innovation corridor, this event brings together three powerhouse institutions that have helped establish Toronto as a world-leading AI hub: MaRS, the world's largest urban innovation hubs; the University of Toronto, home to pioneering AI breakthroughs that sparked the global AI revolution and The Vector Institute, renowned for bridging cutting-edge AI research with real-world applications across 32 enterprise partners and 200+ startups.
This event is open to:
Founders and entrepreneurs in AI and deep tech
Corporate innovation leaders and investors
AI researchers and practitioners
Students and professionals interested in AI careers
Industry partners seeking AI collaboration opportunities
Registration is required due to limited capacity.