Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering

Abstract

Artificial intelligence and social media have justifiably raised alarms about the dangers posed to humanity — and the risks are real. But framing our relationship with technology purely through the lens of fear misses a fundamental possibility: that technology can extend human capability rather than supplant it. Distance need not mean disconnection. Sensory impairment need not mean exclusion. Cognitive overload need not mean error.

Drawing on research from the Shared Reality Lab at McGill University, I examine how carefully engineered human-computer systems can bridge these gaps. Spanning applications in telepresence, assistive technology for blind and low-vision users, multimodal patient vital sign monitoring in the OR and ICU, and decision support for pilots and air traffic controllers, I argue that the most powerful role for technology is not to replace human judgment — but to give humans the perceptual and cognitive resources to exercise it well. Across these domains, a common design philosophy emerges: the best interfaces demand less attention, restoring situational awareness and re-establishing the shared reality that distance, disability, or information overload has disrupted. In an era preoccupied with what technology might take from us, this talk makes the case for what it can give back.

Bio: Jeremy Cooperstock is the Werner Graupe Distinguished Chair in Automation Engineering and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, an Associate Member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Member of the Centre for Intelligent Machines, and a Founding Member of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology at McGill University. He directs the Shared Reality Lab, which focuses on computer mediation to facilitate high-fidelity human communication and the synthesis of perceptually engaging, multimodal, immersive environments, recognized by the Most Innovative Use of New Technology award from ACM/IEEE Supercomputing, a Distinction Award from the Audio Engineering Society, the Hochhausen Research Award from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, an Impact Award from the Canadian Internet Registry Association, and Gold Prize (brainstorm round) of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge. Cooperstock has worked with IBM at the Haifa Research Center, Israel, and the T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, the Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan, and was a visiting professor at Bang & Olufsen, Denmark, where he conducted research on telepresence technologies as part of the World Opera Project.