York experts discuss masking behaviours, involuntary psychiatric care, AI in hiring, baby boomers, bees and more
Jessica Klein, research assistant at the Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Lab, speaks to Verywell Health about how masking behaviours to avoid uncomfortable social situations and stigma leads to long-term burnout for many autistic women. “A pretty consistent finding across the board is that many autistic people report a loss of identity as a result of masking,” says Klein.
Federal and provincial politicians across Canada are discussing ramping up policies that would allow the detention and treatment of addicted and mentally ill people against their will in psychiatric institutions. Professor Marina Morrow, who has interviewed hundreds of involuntary patients, speaks to The Globe and Mail about her findings.
Professor Valerio de Stefano talks to Financial Post about how AI is poised to change the way job vacancies are filled. The main goal of using AI as part of a hiring process is to cut costs. “Removing bias is a secondary objective,” says De Stefano. “Discrimination is always going to creep into the ways you build the algorithm.” It can’t be easily removed because software is developed based on past practices. “In order to build any of these programs, you have to have a database and a benchmark that informs how they are going to work,” he says. “If that database or data set includes discrimination — and, historically, we have discrimination in many jobs — it’s not so easy to root out.” De Stefano doesn’t believe companies are intentionally seeking to discriminate against candidates but says that even with a concerted efffort, removing biases from algorithms can’t be done. “The idea that we can use technology as a magic wand to eliminate discrimination is just delusional,” he says. “Tech is a reflection of what we do and value.”
Discrimination is always going to creep into the ways you build the algorithm
de Stefano speaking to Financial Post
Professor Thomas Klassen speaks with a Toronto Star columnist about how baby boomers benefited — and were shaped by — their generation’s good timing and vast numbers. “We’re the first Canadian generation with public health and public pensions,” says Klassen.
After seasons of forest fires, floods and heat waves, there’s a real need to build resilient food systems that can withstand the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. But an over-reliance on the European honeybee for crop pollination puts all our apples in one basket, Sheila Colla tells The Narwhal. “Where did the disconnect happen — why do we all of a sudden value the honeybee as our main pollinator?” Colla asks.
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