University of Toronto home to the world's first International Symposium on SmartData
Published: May 16, 2012
Leading experts from around the world gathered at the University of Toronto for three days this week to discuss "SmartData," an intelligent way to protect personal information.
Called Privacy meets Evolutionary Robotics: Protecting our Freedoms with Virtual Tools, the world’s first International Symposium on SmartData was hosted by the Identity, Privacy, and Security Institute (IPSI) at the University of Toronto, in association with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC). It drew 150 participants who heard from more than 20 international experts from around the globe.
"The University of Toronto is privileged to welcome renowned experts from around the world to this important symposium," said University of Toronto President David Naylor, who opened the symposium with his remarks. "SmartData is an exciting and ambitious initiative to control and protect personal information in a world of ever increasing digital threats."
SmartData is an intelligent way to protect our personal information by allowing the data to, in effect, protect itself. The goal is to create Internet-based virtual agents, which will act as an individual's online proxy to securely store their personal information, and disclose it based upon the context involved, taking into account the individual’s instructions and preferences.
The primary purpose of this symposium was to introduce the concept of SmartData to the broader research community while identifying the various obstacles that need to be overcome in the pursuit of SmartData. These include contextual and intelligent protection of personal data, data transformation and the hardware/software technical challenges.
International experts at the symposium examined the concept of SmartData through a wide spectrum of viewpoints ranging from evolutionary robotics to cognitive science and dynamical systems, with further consideration given to neuroscience and the philosophy of artificial intelligence.
Information and Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian delivered the message that "privacy equals control."
"Imagine if your data could reflect your personal wishes and preferences," said Cavoukian. "That is what this symposium is all about – making the data "smart." This is the future direction of privacy — taking personal control."
More information about the symposium can be found at: http://www.ipsi.utoronto.ca/sdis/index.html
