Ian Kerr and Teresa Scassa appointed to Canada’s Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence

Technology Law, Ethics and Policy
People walking through a digital space.
Faculty members Ian Kerr and Teresa Scassa have been appointed to the Government of Canada’s new Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence, joining a prestigious group of leading Canadian researchers and business executives to provide advice on how Canada can become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) advancements while ensuring that AI policy and practice reflect Canadian values.
Teresa Scassa and Ian Kerr

As stated in the press release from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, “Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of complex and powerful technologies that will touch or transform every sector and industry in Canada. It has the power to help us address some of our most challenging problems, from improving Canadians’ health to fighting climate change. It will also introduce new sources of job creation and sustainable economic growth.”

The advisory council will be tasked with ensuring that Canada is approaching the transformative power of AI in an intelligent human-centric way, with attention given to human rights, transparency and openness. The team of AI experts and business leaders will offer a broad range of perspectives on how to harness the power of AI, while helping to build trust among Canadians.

One of Canada’s top interdisciplinary researchers on the legal and ethical issues associated with the rise of technology, Dr. Ian Kerr is the Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law, and Technology and a Faculty member of the Centre. His publications have contributed to bold new policy standards in information privacy law, and helped to define the emerging field of robotics and AI law and policy. His research outputs and policy recommendations are widely read across the globe.

A leading scholar in information law and policy, Dr. Teresa Scassa is the Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy and a Faculty member of the Centre. Her contributions to the fields of intellectual property, privacy, and law and technology are innovative, wide-ranging, cross-disciplinary and increasingly recognized around the world. Her work explores issues at the intersection of established laws, evolving technologies and global preoccupations over information and its governance.

Congratulations to Dr. Kerr and Dr. Scassa!  These appointments are a fitting recognition of their field-leading expertise.