GET together: Tech ethics - What we know and where we go from here
Join us for our first event of the 2026-27 season!
GET together on September 15th to dive into research about tech ethics and how we can have an impact.
GET inspired by our panelists from the University of Waterloo who are researching ethics- and equity-focused issues in the tech sector and developing intervention approaches rooted in policy, public education, community care, and industry.
GET connected with fellow attendees and panelists through small-group discussions following the talk.
We are official event hosts with Waterloo Tech Week 2026, a celebration of what’s been built here, and what’s still to come. We’re building something great together. September 12-17, 2026. waterlootechweek.ca
This event is part of IEEE Ethics Week 2026, hosted in collaboration with the IEEE SSIT Broadening Participation Committee and the Computer Society IEEE KW.
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This event brings together researchers from the University of Waterloo who study ethical issues in technology through distinct lenses, including: policy issues related to facial recognition technology; communities of care that counter online hate; and games studies across industry and education. Each will introduce their research and the questions and experiences driving it. Then we dive into how people in the tech community can build on what's been learned so far to increase awareness and create change.
After the panel, we're moving into small-group discussions and networking. We'll create space to talk through what you're actually going to do with what you heard, and to meet others in the community who care about this as much as you do.
Who this is for: Built with early and mid-career women and gender diverse people in software, product, marketing, and sales in mind, and open to university students, developers, AI practitioners, and anyone in the Waterloo tech ecosystem thinking seriously about ethics in their work.
IMPORTANT: Tickets purchased through Luma/Wygo are event access only. If you'd like to add Dinner or Childminding, please register on the GET event platform instead: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/get-together-tech-ethics-what-we-know-and-where-we-go-from-here
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Meet our panel
Dr. Jennifer R. Whitson (she/her) is an Associate Professor in Sociology & Legal Studies and in the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, both at the University of Waterloo. She has a background in surveillance studies. She has been conducting qualitative research (ethnography, interviews, surveys) with game developers since 2012, tracing how social and technological practices shape developers' creative work and influence who exactly can have a sustainable career doing what they love. Other projects focus on how technological shifts, such as adoption of genAI, are impacting education and work. You can find her writing at IndieInterfaces.com, first3yearsproject.com, and jenniferwhitson.com.
Dr. Lai-Tze Fan (she/her) is the Canada Research Chair in Technology and Social Change, and an Associate Professor of Sociology & Legal Studies and English Literature at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She is the Founder and Director of The U&AI Lab at Waterloo, which uses interdisciplinary methods for responsible AI design and AI literacy. Fan is Co-Director of Waterloo’s TRuST scholarly network, with Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland, focusing on improved literacy and informed trust in science, technology, and health. She is also Associate Professor II in the Center for Digital Narrative at the University of Bergen, Norway.
Dr. Laura Blanco-Murcia (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, who is passionate about the intersections between gender, care, sustainability, and the narratives about these topics that circulate in online and offline environments. Through her work, Laura finds insights to foster the emergence and growth of caring communities that prioritize human and more-than-human wellbeing over financial gains. Currently, she is exploring narratives about caring masculinities circulating online, which can provide alternatives to hate-based narratives and enable sustainable futures. Originally from Colombia, Laura lives in Canada with her partner, her wonderful kid, and two crazy dogs.
Moderated by Dr. Heather Love (she/her). Heather is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Waterloo, where she conducts interdisciplinary research and teaches courses on topics related to literature, culture, technology, health, and engineering education. She is Vice President for Conferences of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT), where she also serves on the Publications and the Ethics and Social Responsibility Committees. Heather is an IEEE TechEthics Global Ambassador and member of the Steering Committee for the 2026 IEEE Ethics Week. Her book, Cybernetic Aesthetics: Modernist Networks of Information and Data (Cambridge University Press 2023), was awarded the Gertrude J. Robinson Book Prize from the Canadian Communication Association and was a finalist for the British Society for Literature and Science Book Prize. Her work has appeared in literary studies, medical humanities, and IEEE journals.
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Agenda
5:30pm: Doors open. Join us at the Builder's Club event space on the 3rd floor. Dinner is available as you arrive. Childminding is available by pre-registration.
6:00pm: Welcome messages from GET.
6:15pm: Panel discussion.
7:15pm: Discussion session with our panelists and fellow attendees.
8:00pm: Event wrap-up.
Childminding closed. Please pick up your kids!
Childminding is available by advance registration for this event through the GET event platform: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/get-together-tech-ethics-what-we-know-and-where-we-go-from-here