2024 was a big year for artificial intelligence on several fronts. The use of the technology has become more widespread, and we encounter its applications on a daily basis. A Canadian researcher, Geoffrey Hinton, shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics for his contributions to machine learning and artificial neural networks. While celebrating his win, Hinton cautioned — as he has been for a few years now — against the misuse of AI, and called for responsible and transparent AI development.

At The Conversation Canada, we’ve published many articles on AI and its applications in several fields, written by academics whose research includes investigating the implications of AI. These include its use in mental health therapy, human resources, the criminal justice system, pornography, border management, and several other fields.

An additional immediate concern for us is the impact of AI on the work that we do. And while we’ve published articles that examine how AI affects journalism through generating and disseminating misinformation including deepfakes, we’ve also looked at how AI can help detect deepfakes and fake news and help address the spread of misinformation. 

Researchers found that when “it comes to AI and news production, Canadian news consumers want to know when, how and why AI is part of journalistic work” — at The Conversation Canada, trust in our expert voices to express, assimilate and interpret information as a human creator is paramount. We will continue to critically examine the shifts that AI is producing in other fields, including how news organizations are responding to its applications, and use this expert-sourced research to inform our own approach. 

We’re a small, independent newsroom and your donations help us continuously cover the stories that affect us. Donors will receive official tax receipts, which will be issued in January. Before I sign off, I’d like to say thanks to all of our readers who responded to our donation campaign — we’re so grateful for your support and the kind messages you have sent. And as always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Nehal El-Hadi 
Interim Editor-in-Chief, The Conversation Canada