Gen(Z)AI: Youth Voices, AI Futures
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the way we work, live, think, and interact. But, while young Canadians are some of the most digitally connected people, they remain largely absent from decision making about this technology. As the Canadian federal government ramps up its AI strategy, we believe that it's essential to have youth voices at the forefront of this conversation – not as an afterthought, but as a guide for the future of AI in Canada.
Over the course of eight months, we convened 100 young Canadians across four regional forums in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax to hear from them directly. They learned from experts, deliberated with other young people, and built policy consensus that impacted Canada's legislative and regulatory approaches to AI.
Partners
Mila, Dialogue on Technology Project
Featured Video
Gen(Z)AI: Canada’s Youth Assembly on Artificial Intelligence
What happens when we give young Canadians a real say in AI governance?
Over seven months and across four cities, Gen(Z)AI brought together one hundred in-person participants, and thousands of virtually engaged young Canadians, to deliberate on and draft policy recommendations for AI governance in Canada. The result was something rarely achieved in technology policy: the democratic voice of those who have the most to gain or lose, speaking clearly and in their own name.
Featured Publication
Gen(Z)AI: Youth Voices, AI Futures
April 2026
We offer this report to those shaping the future of AI in Canada: to policymakers tasked with designing guardrails for a rapidly evolving technology; to civil society organizations, researchers, and practitioners seeking more meaningful ways to engage the public; and to members of the public who rightly expect to have a voice in decisions that will shape their lives. The recommendations presented here are evidence-based, consensus-built, and grounded in the realities of how AI and online harms are actually experienced by young people. They are written in the participants’ own words, drafted and ratified through the deliberative process described in this report, and presented here without alteration.
We are confident that the recommendations drafted by Gen(Z)AI participants represent something rarely achieved in technology governance: the democratic voice of those who have the most to gain or lose, speaking clearly and in their own name.
Read MoreFeatured Report
AI Unpacked: An Accessible Guide to Engaging Critically with Artificial Intelligence
July 2026
AI systems increasingly determine what information reaches our screens, structure how we work and learn, and play a role in the decision-making that shapes crucial parts of our lives. Despite this, public understanding of AI is remarkably thin: conversations about it are too often dominated by technical jargon or inflated by hype, leaving people without the tools to critically assess AI’s promises and risks.
AI Unpacked demystifies the building blocks of AI — algorithms, data, compute, infrastructure, labour, and the historical evolution of the field — and explores the social, ethical, and political challenges that accompany its rapid expansion, from bias and disinformation to labour displacement, market concentration, and mental health impacts. It also introduces emerging approaches to AI governance, including Canada’s own regulatory landscape, approaches informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, and participatory models of policymaking that centre public voice and collective responsibility.
AI Unpacked is a collaboration between the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University and the Dialogue on Technology Project, the flagship technology and AI initiative of Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
Read MoreGen(Z)AI Process
