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- 2024: AI: Beyond the Hype鈥擲haping the Future Together with Stephanie Dick and Daniel Barcay
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- 2021: All My Relations: Trauma-Informed Engagement with Karine Duhamel
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The Dialogue on Technology Project (DoT)
The Dialogue on Technology Project (DoT) is the Centre for Dialogue鈥檚 flagship initiative on artificial intelligence (AI).
DoT is organized around the principle that technology policy shouldn鈥檛 be decided behind closed doors or left to industry; it should reflect real public values, experiences, and priorities. Through a combination of public engagement, multi-stakeholder dialogue and knowledge translation, DoT works to make principle this a reality.
Public discourse around AI can be described as stuck between catastrophization (鈥渨e鈥檙e all going to die鈥�) and tech-optimism (鈥渢his will solve all of our problems鈥�). The hype and misinformation, the speed of change, and the absence of a coherent channel of conversation between technologists, policy makers, scientists, ethicists, social scientists, the business community and the public produces a potentially dangerous situation where gaps in understanding grow every day, making it nearly impossible to work out solutions for the responsible use of AI. This is where DoT's work comes in.
DoT is one part of a set of efforts articulated in SFU's AI Strategy, developed to better understand how the university can research and utilize AI for the greater good of education, research, and society.
Connect with DoT's Director
GEN(Z)AI
Selected Programming and Engagements
Gen(Z)AI
A technology-enhanced citizens鈥� assembly process empowering youth across Canada to co-develop policy recommendations on AI and online harms, and present them directly to government. 100 youth convened in 4 cities to deliberate and draft recommendations, which are shared with thousands more youth through a digital engagement process. In-person youth to present finalized recommendations to decision-makers in May 2026. Delivered in partnership with McGill鈥檚 Centre for Media Tech and Democracy, with support from Mila and . More information here.
Data and AI Governance Advisory
An in-house advisory body to support British Columbia鈥檚 government roll out its digital governance and connected services programs through 2026. Combines expert and stakeholder convening with research to support government in considering the sociotechnical, ethical and strategic implications of different governance approaches.
Symposium on BC鈥檚 AI Future
A 2024 gathering of 120+ leaders from across industry, civil society, indigenous groups, government, and academia to chart a path forward for British Columbia on AI governance. Report available here.
Public Opinion Research
Worked with polling firm Angus Reid to develop public opinion research examining BC residents鈥� perceptions of AI and how best to approach its governance. Full results of 2024 research available here. Article available here. 2026 research forthcoming.
AI Unpacked
A forthcoming public-facing handbook to help readers critically engage with AI and related technologies. Offers a foundational toolkit empowering readers to ask sharper questions, understand the policy landscape, and recognize what鈥檚 at stake in current AI debates. Released in partnership with McGill鈥檚 Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy.
2024 Welch Public Dialogue on AI and Society
An open public dialogue bringing together community members in Vancouver for an evening of interactive exhibits and spirited discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in society. The event featured a dynamic discussion between Dr. Stephanie Dick (Assistant Professor, SFU) and Daniel Barcay (Executive Director, Center for Humane Technology), moderated by Aftab Erfan. Full video here.
AI + Deliberative Democracy 2025 Workshop
Workshop on deliberative approaches to inclusive AI governance, hosted in partnership with Mila, CIFAR, and McGill鈥檚 Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy. The workshop brought together Canadian and global experts in deliberative democracy, civic technology, and AI governance, and launched a seven-part essay series exploring how citizen assemblies and participatory processes can strengthen public legitimacy and democratic oversight in AI policymaking. Essay series available .
AI Benchmarking Expert Roundtable
Workshop at the 2025 Paris AI Action Summit focused on SDG-aligned approaches to socio-technical AI benchmarking. Organized in partnership with Aspen Digital, Collective Intelligence Project and Public AI Network.
Global Presence
DoT is actively advancing its mission internationally, including organizing and contributing to expert roundtables and public events on AI governance in spaces like the Paris AI Action Summit, the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford, the India AI Impact Summit, WebSummit 2025, RightsCon 2026, and events from Washington D.C. and San Francisco to Kosovo and Taiwan.
