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Taylor Owen

@taylorowen.bsky.social
574 followers 103 following 67 posts

Beaverbrook Chair of Media, Ethics & Communication, Director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, & Principal Investigator of the Media Ecosystem Observatory, McGill University. Host of the Machines Like Us podcast tinyurl.com/9yn836x

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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
In the lead-up to recording this episode of Machines Like Us, my producer Mitch shared a song with me from a band that doesn’t exist.
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
And we're off. Two days with a remarkable group: www.attentionconferences.com/conferences/...
attentionconferences.com
The Attention Forum: October 23/24th 2025
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
This week in Montreal we are hosting some of the top digital governance experts and practitioners in the world to discuss how to ensure that AI and digital technologies serve the interests of democratic societies. Agenda below.
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
This debate isn't just about classrooms, it's about the future of how we think. Watch season 2 episode 1 here: tinyurl.com/muvw84hu
tinyurl.com
AI is Upending Higher Education. Is That a Bad Thing? (Niall Ferguson & Connor Grennan)
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Season 2 of Machines Like Us is out now! AI has thrown universities into turmoil. This week's episode: should educators embrace AI or ban it outright? #MachinesLikeUs #Podcast #AI #HigherEd
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
With a new ministerial mandate and growing political momentum, Canada has an opportunity to chart a new course. This final panel looked to the next phase of digital policy – featuring @raisapatel.bsky.social, @taylorowen.bsky.social and Elissa Strome (CIFAR).
Raisa Patel, Federal Politics Reporter, Toronto Star. Photo by Lindsay Ralph.Taylor Owen, Director, Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy. Photo by Lindsay Ralph. Elissa Strome, Executive Director of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy at CIFAR. Photo by Lindsay Ralph.
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Raisa Patel @raisapatel.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Learned a lot at this event from @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social. Watch our panel with @taylorowen.bsky.social and CIFAR's Elissa Strome on the future of digital policy and governance here: www.cpac.ca/public-recor...
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I'm just glad one of these men has the nuclear codes and the other has all our personal data.
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The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
In a high-stake federal election, accurate campaign information is essential, and the line between what's real and what isn't is blurry. @spaikin.bsky.social asks @taylorowen.bsky.social (@meo-cdmrn.bsky.social @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social) how vulnerable Canadian voters are to disinformation?
youtube.com
Are Canadian Voters Vulnerable to Online Disinformation? | The Agenda
YouTube video by TVO Today
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Media Ecosystem Observatory @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
“How do you separate the signal from the noise,” asks @taylorowen.bsky.social , “when the noise is just a baseline of really bad content?” Our team is tracking when online chaos crosses the line into strategic, manipulative, or malicious: sites.libsyn.com/434604/elect...
sites.libsyn.com
The Paul Wells Show: Election week 4: it's a jungle online
How concerned should we be about election interference online? Taylor Owen and his colleagues at the  keep a close eye on who's trying to sway our elections, and whether or not they're succeeding. He…
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
A wide ranging conversation with @spaikin.bsky.social @tvotoday.bsky.social about our work @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social this election: youtu.be/Ipe6udE0eEE?...
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Media Ecosystem Observatory @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
“News” ≠ journalism anymore. @taylorowen.bsky.social says Canadians are losing their ability to distinguish between reliable reporting and random info online, and it’s reshaping our democracy. The Meta news ban? “Radical.” 11M journalism views a day, gone: share.transistor.fm/s/f862a48d
share.transistor.fm
Taylor Owen from McGill’s Centre for Media, Tech & Democracy | Get Fact by Kevin Newman | Episode 1
A deep dive into how disinformation is evolving—and what it means for Canada’s democracy and elections.
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
"We're in a pretty big reset moment with two potential governments that have very different views of what the state's role in governing our digital technologies is," says director @taylorowen.bsky.social on the Paul Wells Show with @inklesspw.bsky.social. Listen: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com
Election week 4: it's a jungle online
Podcast Episode · The Paul Wells Show · 2025-04-16 · 51m
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Marie Lamensch @marielamensch.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Great to hear @taylorowen.bsky.social on Paul Wells @inklesspw.bsky.social podcast talking about mis-and disinformation and foreign influence in the Canadian elections. Tune in paulwells.substack.com/p/election-w...
paulwells.substack.com
Election week 4: It's a jungle online
Making sense of the online invective-scape. Plus: Continued effort to make sense of Quebec!
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
I spoke with Kevin Newman about our work @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social for his new podcast @getfact.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/g...
podcasts.apple.com
Taylor Owen from McGill’s Centre for Media, Tech & Democracy
Podcast Episode · Get Fact by Kevin Newman · 2025-04-13 · 31m
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
It is very encouraging that @markcarneyforpm.bsky.social is framing the issue of online harms within the broad context of the health and sovereignty of our information ecosystem. www.youtube.com/live/hhozjmi...
youtube.com
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
This week on the Machines Like Us podcast, the changing face of election interference, with leading information manipulation experts @abridgman.bsky.social, @ninajankowicz.com, hosted by @taylorowen.bsky.social. Listen: lnk.to/machineslikeusTX
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Some thoughts with Helen Hayes on how the next government might prioritize protecting the integrity of our information ecosystem. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: How the next government can protect Canada’s information ecosystem
A unified digital governance agenda would help the next prime minister quickly buttress our democracy, which is now under attack from the United States
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
With @petermacleod.bsky.social on some first steps for the next government to restart our digital governance agenda. Lots more details on this strategy to come. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
In a changed world, Canada faces an information war. There is an answer
To fight misinformation, we need to re-establish a critical cabinet portfolio for the digital age.
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
To kick off the election I was on FrontBurner with @jaymepoisson.bsky.social to talk about the current state of our media ecosystem and what has changed since we started studying it in 2018 at the Media Ecosystem Observatory. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
podcasts.apple.com
An election in a polluted media environment
Podcast Episode · Front Burner · 2025-03-24 · 29m
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Last week, director @taylorowen.bsky.social sat down with journalist @karenhao.bsky.social to talk about why the Chinese AI startup #DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the industry—and why she thinks the media is taking all the wrong lessons away. ➡️ Listen to Machines Like Us here: tgam.ca/karenhao
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
A critically important truth from the remarkable @ethanz.bsky.social in the best talk I have ever seen about unpermissioned adversarial research at our Media Ecosystem Observatory conference #freedominterrupted
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Max Bell School of Public Policy @maxbellschool.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
@taylorowen.bsky.social on disinformation, a significant threat to Canada’s democracy as he explains Justice Marie-Josée Hogue’s inquiry into foreign interference. 🇨🇦📱 @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social
youtube.com
How Disinformation is Threatening Canada's Democracy
YouTube video by Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy
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Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Our nation's sovereignty is only as secure as our ability to govern our digital space. But as @taylorowen.bsky.social explains, there are a number of vulnerabilities in our information ecosystem, including the outsized influence the U.S. has over it, which must be addressed: bit.ly/FI-disinfo
bit.ly
How Disinformation is Threatening Canada's Democracy
Disinformation is the greatest threat to our democracy, according to the findings of Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, the commissioner of Canada's public inquiry into foreign interference. But what even prompted the Foreign Interference Commission? What are the key takeaways from Justice Hogue's final report on Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions? And how does America — specifically President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and social media platforms — affect Canada's information ecosystem and, ultimately, our country's sovereignty? Taylor Owen, the director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, explains. 00:11 Chinese foreign interference 00:35 The start of the Foreign Interference Commission 00:52 Indian foreign interference 1:37 Russian foreign interference (Tenet Media) 1:52 Justice Hogue’s final report on foreign interference 2:47 U.S. hostility to efforts of combatting disinformation 3:07 Media Ecosystem Observatory’s work monitoring the information ecosystem 6:49 America’s influence over Canada’s information ecosystem 7:47 Misinformation via podcast influencers 8:22 How the design of our social media platforms incentivizes disinformation 9:02 How disinformation affects our sovereignty
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Last year I had the chance to testify at the Foreign Interference Commission. Here is a new video outlining our work and Justice Hogue's core finding that the root cause of the foreign interference threat is the overall vulnerability of our information ecosystem. www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2HL...
youtube.com
How Disinformation is Threatening Canada's Democracy
YouTube video by Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy
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The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Is big tech politicizing social media? It's "a question of our sovereignty," @taylorowen.bsky.social (@mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social) tells @spaikin.bsky.social at 8/11pm with @carmilevy.bsky.social , @mcewan.bsky.social (@iccit-utm.bsky.social ), and @erinkelly.bsky.social (Advanced Symbolics).
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Everyone still ok with handing our low orbit broadband over to Musk? And the regulation of our public sphere to Meta, YouTube and TikTok? And the ownership of our media to US hedge funds? And our AI jobs and IP to Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google?
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
This is so incredibly craven. The $25m is a bribe, not a settlement, and it’s an insult to the First Amendment. If you work at Meta, hang your head in shame. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Meta will pay $25 million to settle Trump lawsuit alleging censorship
Brought by Trump in 2021, the lawsuit alleged Meta improperly suspended his social media accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
A few initial thoughts on the Hogue Commission report. In short, at a time when the US is undermining efforts to study and respond to disinformation, this report puts Canada on the frontlines of a potential democratic response.
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
This was an incredibly hard but important conversation. It's pretty clear chatbots open up a new front for online safety. Below are links to my conversation with Megan Garcia, and an oped about possible reforms. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com
This Mother Says a Chatbot Led to Her Son’s Death
Podcast Episode · Machines Like Us · 2025-01-14 · 49m
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Max Bell School of Public Policy @maxbellschool.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Who is responsible for the actions and outcomes of an AI chatbot? @taylorowen.bsky.social writes for @theglobeandmail.com about the landmark lawsuit targeting what might become this decade’s most important legal question.
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: AI can be a threat to children’s lives. How can we build safeguards?
A Florida teenager allegedly took his own life because of an AI chatbot – a tragic reminder about the importance of risk-mitigating policy tools such as the Online Harms Act
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The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 14/01/2025
Megan Garcia believes a Character.AI chatbot is complicit in her 14-year-old son taking his life last year and is suing the company. What could it mean for the future of AI and kids online safety? Listen to her conversation with @taylorowen.bsky.social: tgam.ca/chatbot
tgam.ca
This Mother Says a Chatbot Led to Her Son’s Death
Podcast Episode · Machines Like Us · 2025-01-14 · 49m
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Kate Klonick @klonick.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
A quick hit on my thoughts about the Meta decision around US based content moderation -- each of which is basically getting fleshed out into longer op-eds and posts to come soon. But to get you started on some takeaways from Zuck's announcement here's a 🧵 1/
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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Zuckerberg holds a majority of voting power in his company. That he should see it as “out of touch” isn’t a criticism of woke Dems. It’s a criticism of the way he himself capitulates and blows with the political winds. He's at war with himself. Has been for years. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
theatlantic.com
We’re All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This
Mark Zuckerberg is at war with himself.
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Over the past few years I've had the chance to have podcast conversations about technology and democracy with 70+ people that I respect and admire. This week's episode with @ruha9.bsky.social, on how she thinks about AI and imagining the future, may be my favorite. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com
How Silicon Valley Monopolized Our Imagination
Podcast Episode · Machines Like Us · 2024-12-03 · 46m
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
I recently had the honour of sitting down with Margrethe Vestager for a wide ranging conversation about her tenure shaping the EU digital governance agenda, what she's learned about taking on big tech, and where she sees the AI policy space headed. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com
Margrethe Vestager Fought Big Tech and Won. Her Next Target is AI
Podcast Episode · Machines Like Us · 2024-11-19 · 35m
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
On the potential for an unprecedented fusion of Silicon Valley's power with state authority that could reshape how we govern technology globally, video for @gzeromedia.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amjk...
youtube.com
How will Trump 2.0 impact AI? | GZERO AI
YouTube video by GZERO Media
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Taylor Owen @taylorowen.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social I outlined some possible implications of a Trump presidency on global tech policy. www.techpolicy.press/on-the-comin...
techpolicy.press
On the Coming Merger of Tech and State Power | TechPolicy.Press
Taylor Owen writes that the merger of state and tech power is a fundamental challenge to democratic governance in the digital age.
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