Beyond Speed and Scale: Reimagining AI Through a Climate Justice Lens

In this thought-provoking episode of Deep Learning Dialogues, we welcome Dr. Maria Vamvalis, an educator and researcher with over 20 years of experience in climate justice and transformative learning. She reveals the hidden environmental costs of AI—from carbon emissions to water consumption—and challenges us to reimagine our relationship with technology. Moving beyond a framework of speed, scale, and profit, Dr. Maria Vamvalis offers educators practical criteria for ethical AI use centered on justice, regeneration, and relationships, while sharing actionable strategies to develop critical thinking habits that prepare students to navigate our complex environmental future. You can read the episode summary article here.

Dr. Maria Vamvalis, is an educator, facilitator, and researcher with over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of climate justice, transformative learning, and regenerative systems change. Her doctoral work at the University of Toronto explores pedagogies beyond colonial models, while her pioneering initiatives include co-leading Canada's first national climate education course and the Toronto District School Board's Climate Camp. As a consultant with the Critical Thinking Consortium and collaborator with organizations globally, she facilitates inquiry-driven processes that support communities facing ecological challenges, creating spaces of learning that cultivate more just, regenerative futures through approaches centered on deep relationality.

You can find Maria on:

LinkedIn

Critical Thinking Consortium (TC²)

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Want to know more? You can check out our: WCDSB GenAI Guidelines, infographics, and Innovation website: https://innovate.wcdsb.ca/

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