The TalkLab AI team was proud to exhibit in this year's #TorontoTechWeek. We enjoyed speaking about our tech with many University of Toronto students, alumni, staff, investors, and fellow founders. We're inspired to see so much innovation happening right here in this great city. Special thanks to Toronto Tech Week for putting on this fantastic event! Get in touch to learn how we're making AI in education awesome: www.talklab.ca University of Toronto Entrepreneurship University of Toronto Scarborough Research & Innovation University of Toronto Scarborough UTEST, University of Toronto Desjardins Group
TalkLab AI
Technology, Information and Internet
Toronto, Ontario 115 followers
TalkLab is a conversational AI platform that helps people learn and practice communication techniques more effectively.
About us
TalkLab was founded in the Advanced Learning Technologies Lab at the University of Toronto by Professors Steve Joordens (Ph.D. Psychology) and Brian Harrington (Ph.D. Computer Science). Our goal is to help people learn and practice conversational techniques in fun, low-stakes, and empirically validated ways. We believe that with our evidence-grounded design - evaluated & refined through our research program - we can help people feel less anxious about conversations and strengthen their social wellbeing.
- Website
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talklab.ca
External link for TalkLab AI
- Industry
- Technology, Information and Internet
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Toronto, Ontario
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2025
- Specialties
- Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Conversational AI, Psychology, Machine Learning, Training, Education, and Skills Development
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
108 College St
Suite W680
Toronto, Ontario M5G 0C6, CA
Employees at TalkLab AI
Updates
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Multiple‑choice exams were born in 1914. Is it finally time for something better? Perhaps more than anyone, educators know that GenAI has made it easy for students to produce polished work without demonstrating genuine understanding. This has put real pressure on using traditional exams as valid assessments. In a recent C21 Canada / Dell Technologies AI use case, our team partnered with the University of Toronto Scarborough to pilot AI‑based oral assessments in an 1,800‑student psychology course. Using our Parallels platform, we created “Alicia,” to interview students about how they engaged with a research article, probing their reasoning and process rather than just picking from a list of best options on an exam. The result: scalable, curriculum‑aligned oral exams that students largely described as “engaging”, “helpful”, “insightful”, and “innovative” in post‑activity feedback. Our team is exploring how conversational AI can help institutions move from shallow, test‑driven learning toward richer, feedback‑rich assessment that actually drives learning. We call it the 'death of multiple choice exams' (#RIPMCQ). Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eZcbPpV9 Curious about how TalkLab AI Parallels can help you end multiple choice exams in your courses? Get in touch with our team at http://www.talklab.ca University of Toronto Entrepreneurship UTEST, University of Toronto
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Try our tech and learn how we're making speaking with AI better TODAY at the #UofT #TorontoTechWeek Lawn Party! 2-5pm at University of Toronto front campus. We hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/easSKh-S University of Toronto Entrepreneurship UTEST, University of Toronto University of Toronto Scarborough
TalkLab AI will be exhibiting at the #UofT x #TorontoTechWeek Lawn Party! Come down to Front Campus tomorrow to meet the team, chat with some parallels, and see what we've been building. https://lnkd.in/eDDgX9-m #TorontoTechWeek #UofTStartup
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#RIPMCQ UTEST, University of Toronto University of Toronto University of Toronto Scarborough University of Toronto Entrepreneurship
Doing my part today to promote authentic assessment, and adding to the #RIPMCQ movement by presenting the paper I co-authored with Steve Joordens at EduCHI showcasing the work we've been doing at TalkLab AI to re-think the way we evaluate students in the GenAI age. Scaling Authentic Assessment - Interaction Design and Student Sentiment in AI-Facilitated Oral Examinations https://lnkd.in/eSsGSunk https://lnkd.in/e7khatX5
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TalkLab AI Co-founder Steve Joordens will be presenting at Upper Bound this week. Will you be attending? If so, visit RBC Stage 2 (Hall ABC) on May 21st at 3pm to see Steve talk about how AI can shape real world learning experiences in K-12 and post-secondary. University of Toronto Scarborough University of Toronto UTEST, University of Toronto University of Toronto Entrepreneurship
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In a recent episode of The Beyond Product Podcast, our founders, Dr. Steve Joordens and Dr. Brian Harrington shared how TalkLab AI is helping to solve pressing challenges in modern classrooms and beyond. Watch and learn how we're: - Bridging the social anxiety gap. Our Parallels agents provide a safe, non-judgmental space for students to practice interactions - Moving beyond 'helpful bots'. Standard AI models are trained to be submissive. Our Parallels have COGNITIVE AGENCY - they simulate emotional regulation, human-like mental states, and can push back or challenge users to create more realistic, two-way dialog. - Ending multiple choice exams (#RIPMCQ). We're working to bring learning into the 21st century through oral assessments. This will make measuring learning equitable, holistic, and impactful by measuring what students actually know and address real learning gaps. Bonus: Hear some words of wisdom on building a start up in the academic space - where to start and how to get there. Interested in learning more about what we do? Visit www.talklab.ca and get in touch with our team! https://lnkd.in/g-fTaHnC
EP 31 - Rethinking Learning with Steve Joordens & Brian Harrington | TalkLab | Beyond Product
https://www.youtube.com/
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Looking forward to presenting at this year's #UniversityFutureFestival in Berlin as part of my "#DeathtoMultipleChoiceExams" tour (haha!). TalkLab AI University of Toronto University of Toronto Scarborough
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TalkLab AI reposted this
Thanks to TalkLab AI, I am talking with a lot of groups about how AI is changing work. This lead me to a group I would not have thought of as that AI relevant, specifically the Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals (OACFP). After giving a talk they also invited me to guest on the #WhatNow? podcast. We had a great conversation that I am now happy to share ... https://lnkd.in/e9qw5kEu
S4E16 Grief in the Age of Artificial Intelligence - What Now? On the threshold of life, death, and grief.
what-now.buzzsprout.com
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Do you need support with developing interpersonal skills within your team? Think skills like negotiating, de-escalating, influencing, motivating, etc. that become critical during high-stakes situations. If so, we'd like to hear about your project. We're building tools that make speaking with AI better so when people use these tools, they learn how to communicate with others more effectively. Get in touch below 👇 https://talklab.ca/
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A quick shot of our CEO Steve Joordens at the Ontario Centre of Innovation Discovery X. Thank you University of Toronto Entrepreneurship for including us in your video!
Two great days at Ontario Centre of Innovation Discovery X, where the #UofT booth gave us a chance to connect with founders, partners, researchers and members of the startup and innovation community from across Ontario's ecosystem! Great to see U of T represented in the program including a fireside keynote with Xanadu co‑founder Christian Weedbrook and panel discussion with Diana Virgovicova, co‑founder of Xatoms. Day two wrapped up with a keynote presentation by Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton. U of T talent stood out in the pitch competitions, with Engineering alum Parnian Majd, B.Eng, M.Eng winning the Ignite Innovation Pitch Competition for Fibra, and Heta Lad, PhD from boutIQ solutions Inc. (UTEST, University of Toronto) taking home a prize in the Where NeXt Showcase Pitch Competition. Thanks to the many U of T partners for joining over two days! U of T Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, Health Innovation Hub (H2i), Mitacs, Lawson Climate Institute at University of Toronto, Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law — University of Toronto, Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Leadership (SICIEEIL), University of Toronto Engineering, ICUBE UTM, U of T Scarborough Arts & Science Co-op