Who Governs AI? A Trans Feminist Perspective on Who Gets a Say
The Equity & AI Learning Series is a six-session collaborative learning initiative led by Cooperation Canada, in partnership with Salanga, created in response to the rapid adoption of AI across the non-profit and international cooperation sector.
Who governs AI? Who truly gets a say?
In Session 3 of the Equity & AI Learning Series, we turned our attention to AI governance and who gets to shape it. Facilitated by Blair Attard-Frost, Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta and Fellow at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, the session invited us to look at AI governance not just as a question of policies, standards, or ethical guidelines, but as a question of power.
Who truly owns the authority, resources, access, and legitimacy to shape those AI use in the first place?
Through a trans feminist lens, the conversation explored how current AI governance systems often prioritized state and industry actors, while the communities most impacted by AI systems remained excluded or under-resourced. The session also challenged us to think beyond top-down governance models and imagine more participatory, community-driven approaches where governance is shaped with the people most affected, not only for them.
For teams, practitioners, and organizations thinking about AI policies, responsible adoption, or governance frameworks, we’ve unpacked the key insights from this session here (French version below):
