Tanner Mirrlees

Tanner Mirrlees is an Associate Professor and Director of the Communication and Digital Media Studies program at Ontario Tech University’s Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. He holds a PhD from York University and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Joint Graduate Program in Communication & Culture, where he earned the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award for academic excellence. His research focuses on the political economy of digital media technologies, labor in creative industries, and far-right media activism. Mirrlees has authored/co-authored books including EdTech Inc. (2019) and Hearts and Mines (2016), and co-edited volumes such as Media Imperialism (2019). He serves on boards for the Canadian Journal of Communication and Democratic Communiqué, and is a member of research groups like Petrocultures and the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism.

Mirrlees’ teaching spans over 25 courses in communication, political science, and technology studies. Notable awards include the 2014 Teaching Award from Ontario Tech and the 2011 Guelph-Humber Media Studies Teaching Award. His public engagement includes keynotes on AI’s impact on creativity and podcasts like Green Dreams. He has given over 100 presentations, written op-eds, and contributed to documentaries like Theaters of War.

Research interests include geopolitical digital economies, platform capitalism, energy sustainability, and EdTech’s role in global education. Mirrlees co-organized 40+ public events and collaborates with organizations like the Digital Life Institute and Global Labour Research Centre.