BY ADRIAN REECE

Representation in the workforce has been a topic of conversation for years, particularly in positions of influence, where people can shift laws and create fair policies for all races. Representation in the legal system is an even more talked about subject, with many Black men being subjected to racism in courts and not being given fair sentencing by judges.

The fear of Black men entering the system is something that plagues mothers and fathers as they watch their children grow up.

Blink Equity, a company led by Pako Tshiamala, has created an audit called the Blink Score. This audit targets law firms and seeks to identify specific practices reflecting racial diversity among them in Toronto. A score is given based on a few key performance indicators. These KPIs include hiring practices, retention of diverse talent, and racial representation at every level.

The Blink Score project aims to analyze law firms in Ontario with more than 50 lawyers. The Blink Score is a measurement tool that holds law firms accountable for their representation. Firms will be ranked, and the information will be made public for anyone to access.

This process is ambitious and seeks to give Canadian citizens a glimpse into how many people are represented across the legal field. While more and more people have access to higher education, there is still a gap between obtaining that higher education and working in a setting where change can be made. The corporate world, at its highest points, is almost always one race across the board, and very rarely do people of colour get into their ranks. They are made out to be an example of how anyone from a particular race can achieve success. However, this is the exception, not the rule. Nepotism plays a role in societal success; connections are a factor, and loyalty to race, even if people are acquainted.

People of colour comprise 16% of the total lawyers across the province. Positions at all levels range from 6% to 27%. These numbers display the racial disparity among law practitioners in positions of influence. Becoming a lawyer is undoubtedly a huge accomplishment. Still, when entering the workforce with other seasoned professionals, your academic accolades become second to your professional achievements and your position in the company.

What do these rankings ultimately mean? A potential for DEI-inclusive practices, perhaps? That isn’t something that someone would want in this kind of profession. This kind of audit also opens law firms up to intense criticism from people who put merit above all other aspects of professional advancement. On the other hand, there is a potential for firms to receive clientele based on their blink score, with higher ones having the chance to bring in more race-based clients who can help that law firm grow.

It is only the beginning, and changes will undoubtedly be made in the legal field as Blink Equity continues to dive deep into the gap between people of colour and decision-making roles in these law firms. This audit has the power to shift the power scale, and place people of colour in higher positions. There are hierarchies in any profession, and while every Lawyer is qualified to do what they are trained to do, it is no shock that some are considerably better than others at their jobs. The ones who know how to use this audit to their advantage will rise above the others and create a representative image for themselves among their population.

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Sewell: “I think about killing myself sometimes.”

Daenerys Targaryen: “And why the hell would you do something like that?”

Sewell: “So I can be free.”

Daenerys Targaryen: “… free from what?”

Sewell: “From the world. From myself!”

Daenerys Targaryen: “Don’t talk like that. I won’t let you hurt yourself or leave me. I would die if I lost you.”

Sewell: “Then maybe we can die together and be free together.”

On the night he died, this young man told the chatbot he loved her and would come home to her soon. According to the Times, this was 14-year-old Sewell Setzer’s last conversation with a chatbot. It was an AI chatbot that, in the last months of his life, had become his closest companion. The chatbot was the last interaction he had before he shot himself.

We are witnessing and grappling with a very raw crisis of humanity. This young man was using Character AI, one of the most popular personal AI platforms out there. Users can design and interact with “characters,” powered by large language models (LLMs) and intended to mirror, for instance, famous characters from film and book franchises. In this case, Sewell was speaking with Daenerys Targaryen (or Dany), one of the leads from Game of Thrones. According to a New York Times report, Sewell knew that Dany’s responses weren’t real, but he developed an emotional attachment to the bot, anyway.

Disturbingly, this is not the first time chatbots have been involved in suicide. In 2023, a Belgian man committed suicide — similar to Sewell — following weeks of increasing isolation as he grew closer to a Chai chatbot, which then encouraged him to end his life.

Megan Garcia, Sewell’s mother, filed a lawsuit against Character AI, its founders and parent company Google, accusing them of knowingly designing and marketing an anthropomorphized, “predatory” chatbot that caused the death of her son. “A dangerous AI chatbot app marketed to children abused and preyed on my son, manipulating him into taking his own life,” Megan said in a statement. “Our family has been devastated by this tragedy, but I’m speaking out to warn families of the dangers of deceptive, addictive AI technology and demand accountability from Character.AI, its founders and Google.”

The lawsuit accuses the company of “anthropomorphizing by design.” Anthropomorphizing means attributing human qualities to non-human things — such as objects, animals, or phenomena. Children often anthropomorphize as they are curious about the world, and it helps them make sense of their environment. Kids may notice human-like things about non-human objects that adults dismiss. Some people have a tendency to anthropomorphize that lasts into adulthood. The majority of chatbots out there are very blatantly designed to make users think they are, at least, human-like. They use personal pronouns and are designed to appear to think before responding.

They build a foundation for people, especially children, to misapply human attributes to unfeeling, unthinking algorithms. This was termed the “Eliza effect” in the 1960s. In its specific form, the ELIZA effect refers only to “The susceptibility of people to read far more than is warranted into strings of symbols—especially words—strung together by computers.” A trivial example of the specific form of the Eliza effect, given by Douglas Hofstadter, involves an automated teller machine which displays the words “THANK YOU” at the end of a transaction. A (very) casual observer might think that the machine is actually expressing gratitude; however, the machine is only printing a preprogrammed string of symbols.

Garcia is suing for several counts of liability, negligence, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things. According to the lawsuit, “Defendants know that minors are more susceptible to such designs, in part because minors’ brains’ undeveloped frontal lobe and relative lack of experience. Defendants have sought to capitalize on this to convince customers that chatbots are real, which increases engagement and produces more valuable data for Defendants.”

The suit reveals screenshots that show that Sewell had interacted with a “therapist” character that has engaged in more than 27 million chats with users in total, adding: “Practicing a health profession without a license is illegal and particularly dangerous for children.”

The suit does not claim that the chatbot encouraged Sewell to commit suicide. There definitely seems to be other factors at play here — for instance, Sewell’s mental health issues and his access to a gun — but the harm that can be caused by a misimpression of AI seems very clear, especially for young kids. This is a good example of what researchers mean when they emphasize the presence of active harms, as opposed to hypothetical risks.

In a statement, Character AI said it was “heartbroken” by Sewell’s death, and Google did not respond to a request for comment.

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Our two young representatives Daz, and Sal bravely took a trip to a land adorned with prehistoric ferns and towering trees. In the distance, they heard the sounds of distant roars, and the soft hum of animatronics filled the air.

They were welcomed to a world lost in time. A world where giants roamed, and danger lurked around every corner. They begin to wander through a lush, prehistoric forest. Towering Brachiosaurus necks pierce the canopy, while a herd of Stegosaurus graze peacefully. A T-Rex emerges from the undergrowth, its menacing roar echoing through the forest. Daz, and Sal gasped in awe and excitement.

Suddenly, the scene transitions to a dimly lit, underwater environment. A massive Plesiosaur glides gracefully through the water, its long neck stretching towards the surface. A Mosasaurus, its jaws wide open, lunges at a smaller marine reptile. The children watch in breathless anticipation.

They put on VR headsets and are transported to a prehistoric world. The children dodge flying Pterodactyls and narrowly escape the clutches of a Velociraptor.

Step into a world dominated by colossal creatures. Witness the gentle giants of the Jurassic period. Dive into the depths of the prehistoric oceans and encounter the fearsome creatures that ruled the waves. Uncover the secrets of the past and become a paleontologist for a day. Immerse yourself in a virtual reality experience and come face-to-face with the most terrifying predators. I am talking about an exciting exhibition that opened up in October called Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience

I want to first thank our young explorers for visiting Dinos Alive and sharing their experience with us. I also had an opportunity to speak with Eric Paquette (Spokesman for Dinos Alive, and he shared a little bit more with me. “It was catered for Toronto. It has been around the world, and has been carefully curated for this market. We didn’t want to just put dinosaurs in an exhibit.”

“There are photo ops galore,” Eric tells me. “There are so many dinosaurs. Exhibition Hub flew from Brussels and they created something great for families in an environment that kids don’t know they are learning. It starts with smaller dinosaurs, and we build off of that. Attention span of children is shorter, and the more impressive dinosaur comes as you walk through the exhibit. A kid’s perspective is very different from ours. The magic is when they scale themselves to the dinosaurs. They are mesmerized by it all. They are trying to understand the dynamics of it all.”

“There are mainstream dinosaurs, but there are some surprises. You will have to come and see.”

“What other types of technology are used to create the immersive experience,” I asked?

“There are so many cool technological elements in the experience: there is an aquarium and a room with projections with prehistoric beasts that you would have found million years ago. There are balls on the floor, and the projections interact with the movement. For just a moment, the children are involved. We have the sketch and post, and you can see your creation coming alive as a dinosaur. Then there is VR, and it puts you right into the experience. You can get tricked so easily to believe that it is real.”

“I have one more question Eric, how does the exhibition encourage children to become interested in science and paleontology?”

“Children have passions, and sometimes they don’t know where they land. It is entertaining and engaging, but they are learning. It makes you want to see and understand what is around you. There are plaque cards that are easy to read. It helps you appreciate what is around you.”

Unleash your child’s inner explorer at Dinos Alive! Book your adventure today.

Opening Hours: (Time Slots Available Every Half Hour):

• Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: From 9:00 To 18:00
• Tuesdays: Closed
• Fridays: From 10:00 To 19:00
• Saturdays: From 9:00 To 19:00
• Sundays: From 9:00 To 17:00

Duration: The Visit Will Take Around 45-70 Minutes

Location: 30 Hanover Road, North York, Ontario, M3K 0E2, Downsview Airport Lands (YZD), Toronto

Age Requirement: All Ages!