Thursday, March 7, 2024

Register now for the 16th annual Staff Conference

A message from Organizational and Human Development (OHD).

Registration is now open! Waterloo staff are invited by Organization and Human Development (OHD), to join the 16^th annual Waterloo Staff Conference on April 11 and 12, 2024.

This year, we have an impressive line-up of expert keynotes, special session guests and an array of amazing employee-led workshops for you to enjoy. This two-day hybrid conference is free for University staff and can be experienced in the following formats:

• Day 1: April 10 – In-person spaces throughout Hagey Hall (HH) and the School of Accounting and Finance; virtual options via MS Teams for keynotes and special sessions
• Day 2: April 11 – Virtually via MS Teams and in-person viewing room options for keynotes in East Campus 5 (EC5) and Arts Lecture Hall (AL)

Visit the Waterloo Staff Conference website for all the details and to register today!

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Equity, Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Racism unit gives you a warm welcome

A message from the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDIR-O) team.

All staff and faculty are invited to join the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Unit (EDIR-O) for their Warm Welcome Open House and global taste adventure! On March 20 from 1:00 pm-3:00 pm in EC5, the EDIR-O unit will be serving beverages from all corners of the world while networking with Staff and Faculty to discuss the impactful work that is helping to shape our campus community. Drinks such as Laban Ayran, Sorrel, Mango Lassi, ginger beer and different flavoured coffees and teas from around the world will be served. 

While you savour the flavours, you can also participate in a raffle to guess the origins of the beverages for a chance to win a prize. 

Register today-spaces are limited!

Can you tell AI-generated people from real ones?

If you recently had trouble figuring out if an image of a person is real or generated through artificial intelligence (AI), you're not alone. 

A new study from University of Waterloo researchers found that people had more difficulty than was expected distinguishing who is a real person and who is artificially generated. 

The Waterloo study saw 260 participants provided with 20 unlabeled pictures: 10 of which were of real people obtained from Google searches, and the other 10 generated by Stable Diffusion or DALL-E, two commonly used AI programs that generate images. 

Participants were asked to label each image as real or AI-generated and explain why they made their decision. Only 61 per cent of participants could tell the difference between AI-generated people and real ones, far below the 85 per cent threshold that researchers expected.

"People are not as adept at making the distinction as they think they are," said Andreea Pocol, a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo and the study's lead author. 

Participants paid attention to details such as fingers, teeth, and eyes as possible indicators when looking for AI-generated content – but their assessments weren't always correct. 

Pocol noted that the nature of the study allowed participants to scrutinize photos at length, whereas most internet users look at images in passing. 

"People who are just doomscrolling or don't have time won't pick up on these cues," Pocol said.  

Pocol added that the extremely rapid rate at which AI technology is developing makes it particularly difficult to understand the potential for malicious or nefarious action posed by AI-generated images. The pace of academic research and legislation isn't often able to keep up: AI-generated images have become even more realistic since the study began in late 2022. 

These AI-generated images are particularly threatening as a political and cultural tool, which could see any user create fake images of public figures in embarrassing or compromising situations. 

"Disinformation isn't new, but the tools of disinformation have been constantly shifting and evolving," Pocol said. "It may get to a point where people, no matter how trained they will be, will still struggle to differentiate real images from fakes. That's why we need to develop tools to identify and counter this. It's like a new AI arms race." 

The study, "Seeing Is No Longer Believing: A Survey on the State of Deepfakes, AI-Generated Humans, and Other Nonveridical Media," appears in the journal Advances in Computer Graphics. 

International Women's Day breakfast event tomorrow

March 8 marks International Women's Day, a global observance that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. To recognize the day, the University of Waterloo is hosting a breakfast and panel discussion where participants will hear from President and Vice-Chancellor Vivek Goel and incoming Vice-President, University Relations Eleanor McMahon, along with an uplifting and inspiring panel of UWaterloo students, staff and alumni. 

The event is sold out but you can still join the experience through the live stream.