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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 12/10/2026

Great catching up with everyone at 4S in Toronto this past week!

4S 2026 Toronto. TechnoPower; Technoscientific Futures. 50th anniversary.

Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 06/10/2026

4S starts this week! Wednesday at 3:40pm, I'll be chairing "Technopower Landscapes: How Technoscientific Spacialization Structures Food Systems." Samyuktha Rameshkumar, Katie Rohrbaugh, Oluwatosin Obafunsho, and I will discuss how technopower shapes food production, logistics, and agriculture. 🌱🚚🤖

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 14/08/2026

Recurring cycle of offering AI features for free, fostering dependency, then charging a subscription.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 07/08/2026

The schedule for 4S 2026 is out! I've landed on a very fun panel about technology and food. 🤖🥪

TechnoPower Landscapes: How Technoscientific Spacialization Structures Food Systems 2
Wed, October 07
12:20 PM - 1:30 PM
Carleton
Mezzanine
Open Panel
Presentations
12:20 PM
12:20 PM
Refueling Labour: Vending Machines as Technologies of Worker Optimization
Mathew Iantorno, Graduate Student, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
12:20 PM
12:20 PM
Navigating Urban Foodscapes: An exploration of food environments and their influence on eating practices among young adu
Samyuktha Rameshkumar, Dr., Richa Kumar; Richa Kumar, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; Preetha Thomas; Megan Ferguson
12:20 PM
12:20 PM
Agricultural Experimentation as Techno-Spatial Imaginaries
Katie Rohrbaugh, Graduate Student, Cornell University; Emily Fratz
12:20 PM
12:20 PM
Ghost Kitchens and their Tech Landlords: How technopower reorganizes labor, infrastructure, and urban space
Donghyoun We, UCLA

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 15/07/2026

Dipping back into my early fieldwork on retail automation in Toronto. This is the first Robo Cafe in the city, which opened during the pandemic lockdowns in fall of 2020.

A sandwich board reading "The Dark Horse Robo-Barista Powered Up And Ready to Serve" in front of a Robo Cafe on Bay Street in Toronto.

A Robo Cafe kiosk on 1235 Bay Street in Toronto. Two touchscreen embedded in a wood-and-wallpaper decorated facade are labelled Pick Up and Order Here.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 09/06/2026

Great catching up with everyone at CCA in Windsor last week. Already looking forward to next year.🍁

A projection screen that reads "Part 1: this story begins in the 90s." Accompanied by a picture of an old 1990s style PC and the old dial up window.

A white board reads Windsor "Must-Try" Spots! Professor 'Zaa's Pizzeria. Features Detroit & Windsor-style pizza, with shredded pepperoni & canned mushrooms. A picture of a pizza slice accompanies it. A number of name tags are laid out below the white board.

Panoramic picture of the Windsor waterfront in the evening.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 08/06/2026

The results of running the copy of the AI strategy through an AI detector are also not inspiring confidence.

GPTZero AI Detection Rating: 100% AI generated.

ZeroGPT AI Detection Rating: 76.3% AI generated.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 08/06/2026

Reviewing Canada's new national artificial intelligence strategy. First impressions are less than positive.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 01/04/2026

Revisiting the archives today. Always glad to have this affirmation in my back pocket.🙏🍭

Candy is Good. By Dr. Walter H. Eddy. Nutrition Expert Head, Good Housekeeping Institute.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 16/03/2026

The preliminary schedule for CCA 2026 has been released!🍁 A very apt panel name this year.

Troubling Tech: Critical takes on Algorithms, Interfaces, and Affordances. Crystal Chokshi. Wednesday at 1:30pm.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 12/03/2026

Just submitted my paper to 4S 2026 in Toronto! A reminder that the call for submissions is open until April 30. www.4sonline.org/call_for_sub...

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 11/03/2026

Someone was nice enough to send along this picture verifying that I did indeed talk about weird Canadian grocery stores for a whole hour.

Mathew Iantorno presenting at the Centre for Culture and Technology. He stands in front of a slide that reads "Aisle 24 and the Lever" and display a picture of the entryway for a grocery store; and examples of digitla ink price tags.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 10/03/2026

Thanks to everyone who showed up to my talk at the Centre for Culture and Technology last night! Always happy to talk about the weird food robots I've been studying. 🤖🛒

A PowerPoint slide that reads: Exploring Toronto Automation. There is a picture of a Robo Cafe (an autonomous coffee shop); a PizzaForno (a pizza vending machine); and a self-checkout security screen at a Dollarama.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 06/03/2026

Thanks to everyone who showed up for my goofy mushroom talk at Trip Out! yesterday.🍄

Mathew Iantorno stands in front of a projection screen delivering a lecture. The screen has pictures of mushrooms with the word "FORAGING" on top.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 11/02/2026

As a palate cleanser from yesterday, here is a very good vending machine from the Monkey's Paw bookstore in Toronto.

A large, teal and white vending machine sitting in the Monkey's Paw bookstore in Toronto. It reads the following: Monkey's Paw Biblio-Mat. Old & Unusual. Every Book a Surprise. No Two Alike. Collect all 112 Million Titles.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 10/02/2026

I have found truly the worst vending machine. Even worse than the pizza one.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 23/01/2026

Pleased to announce that I'll be leading a Monday Night Seminar at the Centre for Culture and Technology this March. Stay tuned for more details. www.cultureandtech.utoronto.ca/events

Mathew Iantorno, Monday Night Seminar. Led by CCT Graduate Fellow Mathew Iantorno, PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Information. His research explores how retail automation transforms labour practices, consumer responsibility, and public space. Throughout, he explores the long history of artificial intelligence, connecting modern digital platforms with vending machines, automats, and self-service stores. Details + registration TBA. Mar 9 6:00 pm.

And illustration of the coach house, an old building that serves as the headquarters of the Centre for Culture and Technology.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 09/01/2026

Did a dive into corporate micro-market social media posts today. It's a lot.

Two office workers eating slices of watermelon. The caption reads "Watermelon: The Unofficial Emotional Support Fruit."

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 06/01/2026

In what has inadvertently become an annual tradition, I've redesigned my website. 💻✨ mathewiantorno.com

The cover of a Scholastic children's book simply titled "Internet". On the cover, children are surfing computer keyboard high in the atmosphere of the earth.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 02/01/2026

Expect a lot more of these in 2026 as I hack through the dissertation.

An old newspaper headline that reads "Robot Ramblings." It is accompanied by a picture of a businessman reclined on a sofa and reading a newspaper.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 11/12/2025

Was invigilating an exam at UTM yesterday and spotted this in a campus food court. I can't escape the automatic 'za.

A standalone Pizza Forno vending machine sits in the UTM food court, advertising "Artisan Pizza Ready in less than 3."

A standalone Pizza Forno vending machine sits in the UTM food court, advertising "Authentic Artisanal Pizza Here Now".

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 02/12/2025

I reference this Canadian grocery monopoly diagram so frequently that I should print it out and hang it on my wall at this point.

A diagram illustrating ownership of Canadian grocery stores. The subheadings and headings are as follow: Loblaws (No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix, Provigo, Maix, Zehrs, Fortinos, Value-mart, Dominion, Atlantic Superstore, Independent, T&T); Sobeys (Safeway, IGA, Fresh Co, Foodland, Longo's, Farm Boy, Thrifty Foods, Les Marches Tradition, Marche BoniChoix, Lawtons Drugs); and Metro (Super C, Good Basics, Adonis, Marche Richelieu, Marche Ami, Jean Coutu, Brunet).

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 21/11/2025

Just submitted my abstract to CCA 2026.🍁 FYI the December 1st deadline is fast approaching! acc-cca.ca/index.php/co...

Exterior shot of the University of Windsor's campus during the fall.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 09/10/2025

It seems like every day Adobe is shoving another AI feature into Acrobat's interface that is enabled by default. I can't even search for words in a PDF without an AI suggestion now.

Screenshot of a search bar in Adobe Acrobat. The user is searching for the word "dice." AI assistant suggestions ask "Find content related to dice in the doc" and "What's important to know about dice?"

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 29/09/2025

Stumbled into a PizzaForno vending machine on my way back from a wedding in Barrie last month. Most of these machines have disappeared from downtown Toronto, but they're still deploying them in more rural areas of Ontario.

A PizzaForno pizza vending machine sitting in the middle of the floor of an OnRoute in Barrie.

A PizzaForno vending machine sitting in the middle of the floor of an OnRoute in Barrie.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 27/08/2025

I'm pleased to announce that I will be serving as a graduate fellow with the Centre for Culture and Technology for the 2025-2026 academic year! 📚✨ www.cultureandtech.utoronto.ca/programs#gra...

A wireframe drawing of the coach house, the home of the Centre for Culture and Technology.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 13/08/2025

If you haven't heard, the next meeting of the Canadian Communication Association will be held from June 2-4, 2026 at the University of Windsor. Great to hear that we're moving forward independently when Congress is on hiatus.

Students walking in front of Dillon Hall, a gothic revival style building on the University of Windsor's campus, during the summer.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 13/08/2025

My faculty is hiring... again! The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto is looking for an Assistant Professor (Tenure Steam) in Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures. jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

The exterior of Robarts Library, a large brutalist concrete structure, during the summer.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 29/07/2025

I feel like I've been posting nothing but jobs lately, but it's that time of year! My faculty is hiring an Assistant Professor in Public AI and Cultural Institutions. jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Outside of the Claude T Bissell building, a brutalist structure with the words "Faculty of Information, iSchool" on the outside.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 27/06/2025

All the promotional images for corporate micro-markets have Hide the Pain Harold energy.

An older gentleman in a blue shirt giving a thumbs up while standing in front of a wall of snacks and check out kiosk.

An older woman in a blue shirt giving a thumbs up while standing in front of a wall of snacks in a break room.

An older gentleman in a blue shirt giving a thumbs up while sitting in front of a laptop in his home. Also known as the Hide the Pain Harold meme.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 24/06/2025

It reminds me so much of the old school vending machine ads that promised a silent salesman who would effortlessly make you passive income.

Title: Check-up on these proven income producers. Substance: If you would like a part-time business of your own, to add handsome profits to your present income; or, if you would like a full-time, easy-to-handle business without the usual overhead expense, and have a nominal amount of money to enter a highly lucrative legitimate field which is not overdone - then write us for PROOF from operators who are REALLY happy and MAKING MONEY on our merchandise units.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 24/06/2025

Been diving into some documentation for the Aisle 24 unstaffed convenience stores that have been popping up across Canada. One of the big pitches is that you can own and run a franchise with a time investment of less than 20 hours a week, and a lot of that work will be remote monitoring.

The facade of an Aisle24 store in a downtown location.

The synergy between technologies has enabled owners to remotely manage the operations of their businesses in less than 20 hours a week. Using security pin codes, product vendors can enter stores and restock shelves without the franchisee having to be on premises. Enhanced security has enabled the cashierless stores to maintain a two to four percent shrink rate, depending on location, which is comparable to grocery industry averages.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 16/06/2025

It was fun presenting at @torontogamesweek.com last Thursday about my weird Little Free Library project. Thanks to everyone that showed up! 🧙📚🍁

A picture of a Little Free Library (a small box with a glass door and house-like slanted roof set on a wooden post) in Toronto. A small zine featuring a wizard is situated next to a number of books inside.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 12/06/2025

This evening as part of @torontogamesweek.com I will be talking about urban games, Little Free Libraries, and wizards. 🧙

Thu June 12, 6:30p.m.-8:00p.m.

Making + Playing a Little Free Library RPG

Spellbinder is a quick-play tabletop roleplaying game where players borrow books from a Little Free Library and use the words inside to cast powerful (and unpredictable) spells. Join the creator Mathew Iantorno for a short talk about the challenges of developing a game that interacts with urban space. Then, pick up a book, put on your best wizard hat, and play a short demo of Spellbinder. Free! Registration not required. Limited capacity, first come first served!

📍 Fort York Library, 190 Fort York Blvd

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 30/05/2025

Looking forward to presenting at CCA next week for Congress 2025. 🍁 You can catch my presentation on automats, apps, and contactless service as part of the "Narratives and Consequences of Technological Change" panel bright and early at 9:00am on June 4.

A slide featuring the caption "1937 vs. 2024." Two pictures are presented: the first, New York automat strikers picketing in 1937; the second, gig economy employees striking in 2024.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 29/05/2025

Colleague: "How would you describe your research?" Me:

Robot Ramblings. A drawing of a man reclined on a couch reading a newspaper.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 28/05/2025

Pictured: Capitalists taking all the fun out of candy.

The Automatic Canteen Company became an important part of the depression economy as hard-headed factory supervisors came to realize that "Candy, which had previously been considered as a treat for children, actually constituted a food which was the source of quick energy for hardworking factory employees." Mr. Canteen had done a top-notch job as an "educator" — his efforts had proved that eating candy bars on the job could lighten "the fatigue load," and could actually reduce accidents and boost efficiency.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 27/05/2025

I'll be discussing the 1937 automat strike in my forthcoming CCA presentation. It was challenging finding any depictions of striking workers in newspapers of the time, but I was able to snag this one from the New York Times.

Workers striking in front of a Horn & Hardart automat in 1937.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 24/04/2025

Another example of obtrusive AI features. ProQuest Ebook Central now launches an AI helper as soon as you open a book and offers an unsolicited summary.

A screenshot of the Research Assistant Beta embedded in the ProQuest Ebook Reader. It offers the following summary of the book being read (The Warehouse by Alessandro Delfanti): 'Work hard, have fun, make history' proclaims the slogan on the walls of Amazon's warehouses. This cheerful message hides a reality of digital surveillance, aggressive anti-union tactics and disciplinary layoffs. Reminiscent of the tumult of early industrial capitalism, the hundreds of thousands of workers who help Amazon fulfil consumers' desire are part of an experiment in changing the way we all work. In this book, Alessandro Delfanti takes readers inside Amazon's...

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 15/04/2025

Love that Canada became a global mall juggernaut on the basis of us hating the weather in our own country.

The West Edmonton Mall, the world's largest, is one example of the continuing mutation of shopping malls in Canada where inclement winter temperatures have given an added boost to developers' ambitions to have them become the new, privatised, centres of the public lives of city dwellers.

The output of Canadian architects and developers has also expanded abroad, to the extent that Canadian firms now rank both first (Cadillac Fairview Corp.) and second (the Ghermasian brothers' Triple Five Corp. which owns the West Edmonton Mall) amongst the largest developers and owners of public consumption spaces in the United States.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 04/04/2025

Noodling on writing something about security technologies in the checkout aisle. It's amazing how much companies have been investing in scanners, scales, cameras, and gates to make self-checkouts work.

A surveillance camera in a Toronto area Dollarama location captures the image of a man and displays it on a screen underneath. The man, in turn, is taking a picture of the camera with his smartphone.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 02/04/2025

Looks like the full program for CCA 2025 is out! Looking forward to seeing you all in Toronto in June. www.openconf.org/CCA2025/modu...

Downtown Toronto, near Front Street and King Street, with the Flatiron building prominently featured.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 28/03/2025

🍁🗳️ The Canadian election is coming up on April 28. Remember to register to vote if you haven't already! There's a lot riding on this one. ereg.elections.ca/en/ereg/index

A still from the Simpsons. Ralph Wiggum is dressed up as a mountie, singing Oh Canada.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 27/03/2025

A friend of mine commented that they've seen customers, one after another, pick up a discounted pack of strawberries, see that it's American, put it back down on a giant untouched pile, and then move on.

A pile of untouched strawberry cartons at Farm Boy. A sign behind reads "Product of USA, no. 1 grade, Strawberries, 3.99/ea."

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 27/03/2025

Canadian grocery stores have been doing a decent job of pivoting away from American produce and products, but the rustic pile of maple-flavoured treats at the front door remains the big patriotic move. 🍁

An assortment of maple-flavoured treats, ranging from syrup to cookies, sits on wooden shelves and crates at the entrance to a Toronto Farm Boy grocery store.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 19/03/2025

Balzac's, Second Cup, Coffee Time, Country Style... chains I mention offhand in papers but then have to go back and contextualize because no one has heard about them outside of Canada.

A Balzac's cafe in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

A newly renovated Second Cup cafe on King Street West in Toronto.

A Coffee Time cafe in an unidentified strip mall in Canada.

A Country Style cafe in east end Toronto.

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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 18/03/2025

I'm actually working on a policy explainer about self-checkout accessibility. That's why I have all these pictures! The weird Michaels ones are definitely on my radar. They don't even *try* to be accessible.

A self-checkout kiosk at the Michaels location in downtown Toronto. A button on a touchscreen prompts users to "Tap Here to Begin" alongside an ad for birthday party hosting. The screen is accompanied by a hand scanner and a PoS system.

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