Previous research has highlighted significant concerns about how AI and ADS uses in Canada lead to increasing surveillance and are introduced without adequate human and civil rights protections (Molnar and Gill 2018, Robertson et al. 2020, Raso 2021, Bennett et al. 2014,). More research is needed that focuses on investigating the impacts of new automated and algorithmically driven decision support systems on the people in Canada who are directly affected by their use: those who deliver and those who access public services. The absence of this information enables a skewed discursive environment, as information about AI is propagated by those with interests in advancing greater government uses of AI and ADS systems or by those who do not appreciate the risks and complexity of the projects proposed (McKelvey et al. 2024). This talk details research into the uses of AI and automated decision-making systems by government agencies in Canada. I discuss efforts to map government AI applications as well as to study the social and political implications of AI systems through case study investigations. I aim to show why AI oversight needs to be strengthened and informed by attending to real-world impacts and meaningful consultation about if, where and how these systems should be used. About the speaker Joanna Redden is a Professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University and a 2026 Dorothy Killam Fellow. She co-directs the Starling Centre: Just Technologies, Just Societies and the UK-based Data Justice Lab. Joanna is currently working on projects that involve: a) mapping and analyzing the social and political implications of government uses of AI, b) researching data harms and their prevention and c) working toward greater civic participation in AI Governance. Recent co-authored publications include Data Justice, Understanding Media: Communication, Power and Social Change and Automating Public Services: Learning From Cancelled Systems. Registration To register for this event, visit the official event page. Please note the “Add to calendar” button on this page does not register you for events. Please follow relevant registration instructions.
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