Learning Webinar - Artificial Intelligence: Its potential and ethics in the practice of public participation (Research)

Artificial Intelligence: Its potential and ethics in the practice of public participation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are poised to have profound practical and ethical implications for the process of decision-making in democratic societies. However, public participation practitioners and the communities we work with are not powerless in the face of these rapid technological advancements. Equipped with a foundational understanding of the technology, a sound ethical framework rooted in the core values long promoted by IAP2, and actionable guidelines, policymakers, P2 practitioners, and AI developers can better support the responsible integration of AI in public participation processes.

Join Dr. Pamela Robinson, professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, and Morgan Boyco, community engagement practitioner at Dillon Consulting and Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Waterloo, for a discussion of their recent research on the potentials and the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence in the practice of public participation.

Time Zones

• 01:00 pm - 02:15 pm Eastern
• 12:00 pm - 01:15 pm Central
• 11:00 pm - 12:15 pm Mountain
• 10:00 am - 11:15 pm Pacific

About the presenters:

Dr. Pamela Robinson MCIP RPP is a professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) and is Academic Director at City Building TMU. Throughout her career as a planner her research and practice have focused on complex, emergent challenges that Canadian communities face. Her current research asks: who is planning the Canadian smart city? In 2020 Pamela received the inaugural Canadian Institute of Planners President’s Award: Academic. She is an Advisor on the Toronto Public Library’s Innovation Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the Metcalf Foundation. Pamela writes for Spacing Magazine and recently published a co-edited book The Future of Open Data (2022).

Morgan Boyco MCIP RPP is a PhD Candidate and SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship recipient in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo. At Waterloo, Morgan’s research focuses on public participation, contemporary planning and democracy theory, and the use of the latest digital civic engagement technologies to support local public participation processes. Morgan is also a professional planner and community engagement practitioner with Dillon Consulting with over a decade of experience working with municipalities across Canada to more effectively involve their community members in local decision-making processes.