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Joanna Redden awarded a 2026 Dorothy Killam Fellowship
FIMS professor Joanna Redden has been awarded a 2026 Dorothy Killam Fellowship by the National Killam Program, essential funding that will enable her to focus fully on her research studying the use of artificial intelligence by government agencies in Canada.
Professor Redden, a co-founder of the Starling Centre for Just Technologies, Just Societies, has previously found that Canadian government agencies are making widespread use of AI in policy development and service delivery, but lack effective oversight and avenues for critical public consultation into its use.
With evidence already accumulating that the unfettered implementation of AI in government operations can cause harm to citizens and institutions – particularly people and programs associated with marginalized communities – there is urgent need to establish effective and enforceable guardrails that can help Canada avoid the harms, scandals, and the economic and social costs seen in places where artificial intelligence has been adopted hastily and without due diligence.
“These technologies are being developed and put out into the wild too quickly without adequate oversight, despite polling consistently showing most Canadians don’t trust AI and want strong regulations and protections,” said Redden.
The central aim of Professor Redden’s ongoing work is to advance civic participation in decision-making about if, where, and how AI should be used by government by providing a more robust evidence base of the social justice implications of AI. While recognizing the potential of AI, she hopes to ensure that Canadians benefit from its use and that harms are caught and prevented before they do damage.
The Dorothy Killam Fellowship provides $80,000 per year for two years and is meant to release the researcher from their normal teaching and administrative duties for the duration of the fellowship. Fellows can then focus fully on their research, which has been evaluated by the National Killam Program as being superior, ground-breaking, or positioned to have a significant national or global impact.
“The Killam Fellowship gives me the incredible gift of time to focus on researching the impacts of AI applications and to collaborate with the strong and growing number of organizations and individuals working to strengthen AI governance to ensure it is developed and used in ways that benefits people, society and our shared futures.”
Between five and eight Killam Fellowships are awarded annually to mid-career researchers who demonstrate a commitment to building Canada’s future through collaborative, barrier-breaking and leading scholarship. For more information, please visit the National Killam Program website.
