Research study: Governance of AI

As the 2019-2021听McConnell Professor of Practice for CIRM, Ana Brandusescu is carrying out a research study on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). This exploratory research begins to examine public investment flows in AI through the AI ecosystem, policy, and funding in Montreal and across Canada to better understand its socio-economic implications.听In December 2019, she wrote 听on 鈥渞esponsible AI鈥�, a response to technology that is opaque to many of its users, driven by private sector interest.听In March 2021 she launched the report titled, 鈥淎rtificial intelligence policy and funding in Canada: Public investments, private interests.鈥�

Report: Artificial intelligence听policy and funding in Canada

AI technologies are becoming more prominent in our everyday lives, bringing with them long-lasting political and socio-economic implications. The development and use of AI are supported both privately and publicly. Governments support AI because it promises economic growth, military advantage, and streamlining labour functions through automation. The Canadian government is investing heavily in AI, with billions of dollars in funding committed. As of August 2020, $1 billion in government contributions have been awarded across Canada. An additional $1.2 billion of planned government investments have been publicly announced for the province of Quebec. In Montreal alone, over $2 billion in private investments have been reported.

Power lies in funding and investment networks, yet public access to these networks is notoriously difficult. This exploratory research begins to examine public investment flows in AI. Access to financial flows is a gateway to understanding decisions made behind closed doors. Billions of taxpayers鈥� money go into AI. How is the Canadian government building the innovation economy under AI? To answer this question, public documents and datasets were analyzed, complemented by semi-structured research interviews, and participation at public events and meetings. From March to June 2020, Ana Brandusescu conducted 53 research interviews with experts based in Canada. Interviewees included government officials, industry researchers and analysts, legal practitioners, non-profit practitioners, human rights advocates, and academics working in, or adjacent to the AI landscape. The report seeks to inform policymakers, researchers, and civil society representatives.

The report examines the AI ecosystem in Canada; AI policy and funding; as well as AI in Quebec and Montreal. Because so much of AI resides in the private realm, it is worth questioning how the innovation economy is influenced by private interests and private power 鈥� and by extension, how AI public policy gets written. The research reveals the following findings:

1. Public investments in AI technologies primarily benefit the private sector, where government funding for AI goes mainly to industry and academia adjacent to industry.
2. Even though Canada has a federal AI policy, there is no government AI strategy for government departments and agencies across federal, provincial, or municipal levels.
3. Companies linked to human rights abuses can pre-qualify as government AI suppliers, and commit to Canada鈥檚 Algorithmic Impact Assessment.
4. Concentrations of power provide advantages to a handful of entities with financial resources, data, and technologies across a few universities and affiliated research nonprofits, startups, and international (big) tech companies.

Read the full report

Updated version of the report (March 5, 2021)

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AI ecosystem in Canada

A dataset was created to better understand the AI ecosystem in Canada and the entities that operate in it. In the spirit of public interest research, it is published in an open format so that anyone can use, collaborate, and build on this list.

Description: The AI ecosystem dataset includes 710 public and private entities that work with, research, fund, and/or procure AI, and operate in Canada. Private entities include venture capitals, angels, institutional investors, incubators, accelerators, startups, big tech companies, and audit firms. Public entities include academic labs and projects, incubators and accelerators, non-profit organizations, and government institutions. The entities are categorized by:

• Name
• Type
  • Note:听The categories for company classification are based on OpenCorporates data and classification in English or French (Quebec jurisdiction); the categories 鈥渘on-profit organization鈥澨齛nd 鈥済overnment institution鈥澨齢ave been added by the authors.
• Sector 鈥斕齪rivate or public
• Headquarters location
• Headquarters country
• Website URL
• Other locations 鈥斕齝ities and/or countries the entity operates in
  听

Sources: , , Canadian AI ecosystem 2019, , , and public interest research interviews.

The dataset is available in Excel, CSV, and as a .

In constant evolution: In order to enrich the content and the presentation of this dataset, we invite you to send us your comments and questions. Are the columns in the dataset useful? Should we add another column?听Please add a comment to the document, or send Ana Brandusescu an ana.brandusescu [at] mcgill.ca (email)听or direct message听on .

Credits and acknowledgments: The AI ecosystem dataset was created by Ana Brandusescu and McConnell Foundation Professor of Practice Program Coordinator听Elissa Kayal, and first published on July 7th, 2020听by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal at McGill University.

This work is licensed under the license. The dataset may be remixed, transformed, and built upon, and be copied and redistributed in any medium or format even commercially, provided credit is given to the authors.

We wish to extend our gratitude to Jonathan van Geuns, Yuan Stevens, and Dr. Renee Sieber for their valuable insights and feedback.

2019-2020

Guest lectures and expert groups

During her time with CIRM, Ana Brandusescu has given guest lectures on artificial intelligence, public technology policy, open data/GIS (Geographic Information Systems), and civic engagement. On October 1st, 2019, she gave a talk titled 鈥�鈥� for Jason Prince鈥檚 Social Debates and Issues in Public Affairs and Public Policy (SCPA 301) seminar at Concordia University. On October 7th, 2019, she was invited to present on her work in open data and open government. She also gave a talk on 鈥�鈥� for Dr. Renee Sieber鈥檚 Advanced GIS (GEOG 506) course at McGill University. On January 22nd, 2020, Ana Brandusescu gave a webinar for the Open North鈥檚 One-to-One Advisory Service Open Smart Fundamentals series, on that she developed in the fall of 2019. On April 2nd, 2020 she gave a talk on 鈥�鈥� for Dr. Jess听Reia鈥檚 seminar Cities, Data & Rights (COMS 500) at McGill University.

Ana Brandusescu co-authored the Response to Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada鈥檚 Call for Consultation for Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence with technology and policy experts from , a working group in the at Concordia University. Ana Brandusescu has also joined the Advisory Committee for the 鈥檚 Social Impacts of Technology Study, where she provides expert advice.鈥�

From April to June 2020, Ana Brandusescu participated in the Feminist AI Network Expert Group supported by the , and the co-led by and . The network of experts connects cutting edge feminist research and researchers in data, computer science, machine learning, economics, urban planning, and social sciences to discuss how to leverage AI for women鈥檚 rights, exploring opportunities to drive new innovations, methodologies, and practice听in the field of AI. She also contributes to , specifically, on issues related to trust and civil society in the design, deployment, and use of AI technologies.

On June 11, 2020, Ana Brandusescu was invited to join hosted by Hivos, alongside (Strategy Advisor, Step Up), (Director, Global Data Barometer), (Research and Policy Director, ILDA), and (Fiscal Governance Manager, Global Integrity), moderated by (Director of Operations, ILDA).

Invited Talks

Ana Brandusescu participated in the panel titled 鈥淎rtificial intelligence: What impacts on our democracy?鈥� organized by on February 18th, 2020. The session was moderated by (Instructor, School of Community & Public Affairs, Concordia University), along with panelists (Founder and President, AI Impact Alliance), (Professor, School of Media, UQAM), (Head of Research, Element AI), and (Professor, Department of organization and human resources, UQAM).鈥�鈥�

On May 23rd, 2020, she took part in an international panel of critical technology scholars to discuss inclusive technology organized by . She joined fellow panelists (Founder, Design Beku), (Assistant Professor, Columbia GSAPP University), and moderator (Managing Trustee, SEARCH).鈥�

Data for Society Hub and Montreal Observatory of Social Issues听

Ana Brandusescu is co-creating CIRM's听Montreal Observatory of Social听Issues, a platform that will provide access to geo-referenced, and thematic datasets on Montreal and its populations to offer an improved understanding of the stories that Montrealers share.听This work will integrate into the collaborative data sharing, smart city project.

Montreal Observatory of Social Issues

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Data for Society Hub

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OpenNorth Fellow鈥�

Ana Branduescu holds seminars on technology, politics, and power with the research and policy teams at , a Montreal-based nonprofit that implements a collaborative local-to-global approach to improving government transformation and systems change through a citizen-centered, principles-based, and applied research-led approach to complex multi-stakeholder data-related problems. She also contributes to research and policy reports, gives talks, and advises on projects like the 鈥檚 Social Impacts of Technology Study conjointly with her role as CIRM Professor of Practice.

2020-2021

Ana Brandusescu is continuing to develop her research agenda on the governance of AI. Her focus is twofold: 1) to examine AI policy and funding in Canada; 2) to develop a new model of public (civic) engagement in government decision-making processes that are being automated with AI with the research project AI for the Rest of Us.

Guest lectures, expert groups and publications

Ana Brandusescu听guest lectured for public policy, communications, human resources, and software engineering courses. On June 22, 2020 and subsequently on June 1, 2020, she gave a guest lecture titled for 鈥檚 Digital Transformation in Human Resources seminar (REI 7010) at Universit茅 de Montr茅al. On November 13, 2021, she was invited by Prof. Paulina Bustos Arellano to give a guest lecture at Instituto Tecnol贸gico Aut贸nomo de M茅xico (ITAM) on Tech ethics and private regulation.听She was also invited to present her CIRM research to the INRS Shaping AI Reading Group on May 14, 2021.

In August 2020, she co-authored for the Iniciativa Latinoamericana de Datos Abiertos () with (Strategy Advisor, Step Up) and Silvana Fumega (Research and Policy Director, ILDA).

With Dr. Jess Reia, she co-wrote a response to the City of Montreal鈥檚 public consultation on the Digital Data Charter for CIRM鈥檚 in January 2021, 鈥淎 Starting Point: Transversal Questions and Recommendations for Montreal鈥檚 Digital Data Charter.鈥� Ana Brandusescu was invited to write the preface for Montreal Youth City Council鈥檚 Avis sur l鈥檜tilisation de syst猫mes de d茅cision automatis茅e par la Ville de Montr茅al : Assurer une gouvernance responsable, juste et inclusive.

In February 2021, Ana Brandusescu was interviewed by Murad Hemmadi on her new CIRM research in the article for , 鈥淔ederal funding for Canada鈥檚 big AI push flows to small group of startups, universities: Report鈥�, and by Matthieu Dugal for CBC Radio Canada鈥檚 documentary series AI to be or not to be. She is a collaborator on technology governance research for the Centre for Media Technology and Democracy at the McGill University鈥檚 Max Bell School of Public Policy, where she co-authored the essay with Yuan Stevens titled 鈥�.鈥�

In January 2021, Ana Brandusescu was appointed for a two-year term to serve as a new civil society member for . She is also a network member of the , the AI in the Municipal Government Community of Practice across Canada, and , a think tank that federates an international ecosystem and a multidisciplinary community to propose ethical modes of governance and sustainable uses of urban AI.

Invited talks and workshops

On October 29, 2020, Ana Brandusescu joined CIRM鈥檚 Seminar From the intelligent to the intelligible city to reflect and discuss this , along with the political and socio-economic implications of AI in the city. The discussion was moderated by Hoi Kong (Professor, University of British Columbia) and featured book authors (Professor, ESG-UQAM) and (Professor, Universit茅 de Montr茅al). Ana Brandusescu was a panelist alongside (PhD Student, Institut national de la recherche scientifique), (Director, Montreal Urban Innovation Lab), and (Director of Applied Research Lab, OpenNorth).

On November 17, 2020, she participated in the book launch of hosted by , as book editor and speaker alongside co-editors (PhD Student, University of Siegen), (Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria), and (Head of Data Ethics, UK Government Digital Service). The following book authors gave presentations: (Lead Data Analyst, Open Contracting Partnership), (Researcher, Gent University), (Executive Director, Sinergantara), (Consultant, Open Data Institute), and (Strategy Advisor, Step Up). The discussion was moderated by (Fiscal Governance Manager, Global Integrity).

On November 24, 2020, the Government of Canada鈥檚 School of Public Service Annual Digital Open Government Forum invited Ana Brandusescu to join the panel of experts alongside (Executive Director, AI Global), (Associate Professor, Carleton University), (Program Lead, Partnership on AI), (Researcher, Montreal AI Ethics Institute) and moderator (Executive Director, Open Government, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat). The conversation discussed data integrity and transparency, as well as accountability in AI. On December 15, 2020, Ana Brandusescu was invited to to give a presentation on her preliminary CIRM research findings, titled .

On February 5, 2021, she was invited by the (ALC), a Basque Innovation Lab, to present on the ethical implications of digital listening as a response to the latest research by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Regional Hub in collaboration with . The latter started an through ethnographic interviews in Southern Thailand with a diverse set of key stakeholders in the local food system. Ana Brandusescu joined (Project Director, ALC), (Director, ALC), and (Vice-Rector for International Relations and Digital Transformation, University of Deusto).

On February 24, 2021, Ana Brandusescu was invited to present her new CIRM research for the , organized and hosted by听Dr. Alex Ketchum (Faculty Lecturer, McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies). Her presentation was titled .

Subsequently on April 22, she was invited to present the role of funding in AI governance at the with , and on April 26, 2021, she joined Canada Revenue Agency鈥檚 high-level panel on AI Ethics, with (Professor, McGill University) and (Senior Ethics Advisor, CIHR), organized by (Senior Analyst Research and Innovation, CRA). On May 6, 2021, she was invited to join Urban AI鈥檚 roundtable on data governance, with (Toshiba Professor at MIT), (Director of AI Singapore), (Co-founder of The Governance Lab), (Head of Research at Edgelands Institute), and (Researcher and Architect at the Future City Laboratory) organized by (Founder, Urban AI). On May 7, 2021, she joined the as a panellist on with (Co-founder of The Governance Lab), (Senior Manager, Ontario Digital Service), and (Founder, Literacy AI). On June 1, 2021, she was invited to moderate a keynote discussion between (Adjunct Professor and Director of the Inclusive Technology Lab, University of Ottawa) and (Research Associate, University of Cambridge) on AI for risk and crisis prevention for the in Toulouse, France. On June 22, 2021, Ana Brandusescu presented her research to the Canada Revenue Agency AI Ethics Speakers Series on What is happening with AI policy, funding and regulation in Canada?

AI for the Rest of Us

Prof. Renee Sieber and Ana Brandusescu have been awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant as part of AI for the Rest of Us 鈥� a research project to develop a new model of public (civic) engagement in government decision making processes that are being automated with AI. This exploratory research is grounded in the lived experience of civil society organizations and the interdisciplinary knowledge of academia. The researchers examine how recent trends towards responsible AI and AI ethics translate into meaningful public participation. The project leads are thrilled to conduct this research with civil society and community leaders Michele Spieler, Nasma Ahmed, Bianca Wylie, Jean-No茅 Landry, and Rob Davidson who bring expertise in smart and resilient cities, digital justice, capacity building, and open data. They also partnered up听with academics Pamela Robinson, Peter Johnson, Shannon Mattern, Derek Ruths, Sasha Luccioni, and Drew Bush, who are subject matter experts in geography, urban planning, educational technologies, AI in society, data science, and AI.

She recently organized an interactive workshop for the 鈥淐ritiquing and Rethinking Fairness Accountability and Transparency (FAccT)鈥� programme at the Association for Computing Machinery FAccT Conference on March 5, 2021. Speakers included representatives of Montreal-based civil society organizations, Centre for Community Organizations and Open North.

Data for Society Hub and Montreal Observatory of Social issues

Ana Brandusescu is co-creating CIRM鈥檚 Montreal Observatory of Social Issues, a platform that will provide access to geo-referenced, and thematic datasets on Montreal and its populations to offer an improved understanding of the social issues that Montrealers share. The Observatory will link to Montreal en commun鈥檚 Data for Society Hub, a collaborative data-sharing project that supports social innovation and transformation for the public good.

As Professor of Practice, Ana Brandusescu has co-facilitated and presented on data governance at the governance workshop. She will also be co-facilitating and presenting at future workshops on technology.

Data for Society Hub Website

Montreal Observatory of Social Issues

Follow Ana Brandusescu听on , , and her to stay tuned on her forthcoming activities!