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Gen(Z)AI

Gen(Z)AI, Canada's first citizens' assembly on artificial intelligence, brought young people (ages 17-23) together across the country to help shape the future of AI. 

From September 2025 to April 2026, we convened 100 young Canadians across four regional forums in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax to hear from youth directly on the implications of AI systems for online harms, and to develop concrete policy recommendations aimed at shaping Canada鈥檚 legislative and regulatory approaches to AI. Participants learned from experts, deliberated with other young people, and built policy consensus that has the potential to impact Canadian AI governance.

The project was carried out as a partnership between DoT and , with support from and

Final Report

Policy Recommendations for AI and Online Harms Governance in Canada

Gen(Z)AI participants presented their final recommendations to policymakers in Ottawa on April 30, 2026. Read their proposals, a summary of the process and pathways for implementation in the final Gen(Z)AI report.

Download Report - EN Download Report - FR

Gen(Z)AI鈥檚 Four Forums

Toronto

AI & Chatbots: November 7-9, 2025
Chatbots are some of the most widely-used forms of AI. As they become increasingly embedded in our work, school, social, and personal lives, how can we ensure that we鈥檙e using them safely? 

Montreal

AI & Information Integrity: January 30 - February 1
AI is changing the way we access, process, and produce information. What can we do to ensure the words we read and the videos we view online are trustworthy?

Vancouver

AI & Data Privacy: February 20-22
AI systems are built using large datasets, and continuously collect user data to fine-tune their outputs. What kind of data should be collected, and what should be protected?

Halifax

AI & Age Assurance: March 27-29
Governments around the world are considering asking young people to verify their age before accessing online platforms or using AI systems. How can we ensure that solutions like this protect user privacy, digital rights, and access to information?

Large-Scale Digital Engagement

Gen(Z)AI brought 100 young Canadians (ages 17-23) from across the country together to deliberate in-person and generate policy recommendations about AI and online harms, then present them directly to decision-makers. This national process also had a complementary digital phase: in partnership with , recommendations were shared with thousands more Canadian youth, who weighed in on the draft recommendations created by their peers, and contributed their voices to this groundbreaking process.

Via an interactive sequence, participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the recommendations drafted by Gen(Z)AI representatives and suggest improvements: a crucial step in refining each proposal. It also provided opportunities for participants to share personal stories related to their use of AI, and to propose other AI-related issues they would like to see discussed and deliberated on in in future processes.

The results of the survey were discussed and brought into the deliberations of the final plenary session in Ottawa, with a full report coming soon. 

Forum Reports

Halifax Forum Report: AI & Age Assurance

Participants emphasized that the values they deemed important to their digital lives, including accountability, security, safety, service, well-being, and adaptability, affirming that online participation, at any age, should not come at the cost of personal agency and safety.

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Toronto Forum Report: AI & Chatbots

"Young Canadians really care about the future of AI, and they desperately want change. This was made clear during our first Youth Forum on AI Chatbots. This generation is uniquely positioned to provide perspectives informed by their lived experiences, and they must be centred in the policymaking process. This Youth Forum was just the beginning, and I am excited to see this important work continue!"

Madeleine Case
Report Author and Lead Youth Fellow, Gen(Z)AI Forum on AI Chatbots

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Montreal Forum Report: AI & Information Integrity

This report summarizes the second chapter of Gen(Z)AI鈥檚 national process, which was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 30 - February 1, 2026. At this forum, which focused on AI and Information Integrity, young people articulated a clear and urgent diagnosis of today鈥檚 digital environment. They described an information ecosystem increasingly shaped by the volume and sophistication of AI-generated and misleading content鈥攃ontent that can overwhelm users, blur the lines between authentic and synthetic expression, and erode confidence in reliable information. Participants emphasized that these dynamics do not affect all communities equally: vulnerable populations often bear the greatest burden.

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Vancouver Forum Report: AI & Data Privacy

Youth participants came to a strong consensus that Canada鈥檚 current approach to data collection and AI system governance doesn鈥檛 adequately protect users or provide meaningful transparency.

They developed recommendations under two broad policy mechanisms:

  • Reactive policy mechanisms: These include policy tools that establish clear reporting pathways, remedies, and institutional responses when harm is caused by opaque consent mechanisms, data misuse, and privacy violations related to AI systems.
  • Design and system-level mechanisms: these approaches focus on addressing risks in the design of AI systems and platforms by embedding safeguards and limits on deceptive or manipulative practices before harms occur.

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Policy Briefs

Download and read policy briefs on each of the forum topics:

Partners

Gen(Z)AI is a joint project of 911吃瓜鈥檚 Dialogue on Technology Project and McGill鈥檚 , with support from and . The project is supported by funding from The Walton's Trust, Ronald S Roadburg Foundation, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, CIFAR and Mila. 

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