AI moves faster than most individuals, stakeholders, and organizations can keep track of, and guidance from AI experts – AI researchers, businesspeople, strategists, and changemakers – is not always accessible and is rarely gathered in one place. Our contributing experts share their insights with us, and we build them into our course offerings for learners worldwide, democratizing AI literacy so you can learn, adapt, and succeed with AI.
This page introduces Canadian AI experts and international AI experts who have shared their insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute. Some are globally recognized researchers; others are businesspeople, strategists, and changemakers. Their contributions take two forms in our “Excerpt with an Expert” series: written insights specifically for our course material and recorded expert insight interviews for our courses and multimedia content; several experts have provided both.
We cite our experts’ insights in our courses, including Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, and share them with learners worldwide through the International AI Advancement Institute. Experts are grouped below by their expertise.
Some of our experts spend their careers on building, studying, and advancing AI, improving how machines learn, how robots read human behaviour, and how policymakers might see an AI loss-of-control incident coming. They lead university labs, publish peer-reviewed research, and direct programs at research institutes. Their written insights and recorded interviews bring that research into our courses in plain language.
Canada’s AI research strength has not yet turned into adoption. The C.D. Howe Institute reports that Canada ranks second in the world for top-tier AI researchers, with 10% of the total, but 20th among OECD countries in AI business adoption, based on 2021 data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We plan to close that gap through AI literacy: we turn research insights like Revan MacQueen’s into plain-language course material, and deliver AI literacy training to teams, institutions, and schools, so more Canadians can put that research to work ethically, safely, and effectively.
Another group of our experts runs companies, and their insights come from decisions about when to adopt a technology and what ethical, safe, and effective AI adoption looks like. Between them, they have taken a software company to a stock exchange listing, built machine learning products for charities and universities, rebuilt an agency around AI search, and advised healthcare, government, and enterprise clients on high-stakes technology.
Canadian businesses are adopting AI quickly, and not always evenly. Statistics Canada reported that 19.2% of businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services in the year to its second-quarter 2026 survey, up from 12.2% a year earlier, and that 13.4% named cybersecurity or privacy concerns as a barrier. Founders such as Atif Malik, who advises clients on AI governance and security, can speak to both sides of that picture: where AI pays off, and what must be in place before it does.
Our business contributors have taken their experience into the room with learners. At the University of the Fraser Valley, Keenan Beavis joined our Founder for an AI in the Workplace session during Career Month in November 2024, part of a partnership that reached nearly 100 participants across three workshop events. Mark Hobbs, whose written insights are cited in Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, was also recognized nationally for his contributions to entrepreneurship in 2024.
Strategists work on the decisions that set the conditions for everyone else: how AI is funded, how it is governed, and what a country needs to compete. This group includes a strategy and operations lead in Google‘s AI and infrastructure group, a former senior policy advisor to a federal minister, and a chief executive of a Canadian digital governance and standards organization. Their insights help learners see how policy and investment choices shape the AI they use at work.
Organizations are treating AI as much of a workforce question as a technology one. Deloitte‘s 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise research found 53% naming workforce education as the top response to AI advancements, with 48% identifying upskilling and reskilling as an important adoption effort. The rules are less familiar: KPMG Canada found that 92% of Canadian respondents were not aware of any laws that apply to AI in Canada. Strategists such as Keith Jansa, whose organization develops Canadian AI standards, can explain some of the standards and policies that govern AI use.
Our strategists’ work reaches well past the classroom. When the Digital Governance Council welcomed us as a member in April 2026, its announcement named Keith Jansa and Mark Hobbs among the global experts whose insights feature in our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence textbook. Meanwhile, Jaxson Khan’s policy work informs national recommendations on how Canada competes in AI.
Changemakers turn their expertise into access for other people. This group builds communities for women in AI, works nationally to draw students into cybersecurity, has championed AI literacy on a university campus, and now interviews AI experts after decades in radio. Their insights carry a question that runs through our courses: who benefits from AI, and what it takes for more people to benefit.
Access to AI education is still uneven. KPMG Canada found that only 24% of Canadian respondents had received training in AI, and the World Economic Forum reports that women made up 29.4% of people listing AI engineering skills in 2025, up from 23.5% in 2018. Changemakers such as Frincy Clement and Sireesha Chavali, who both help build Women in AI’s community in North America, connect learners with the networks that help people move into the field.
We also take part in changemaking alongside our experts. In 2025, we co-hosted UFV’s second annual Community Ideation Jam, a 48-hour challenge in which students designed AI-enabled projects to address community problems, with Derek Froese among the alumni judges. In addition, Frincy Clement’s community-building has been recognized by Women in AI itself.
A notable contributor to our Excerpt with an Expert series and author behind our educational materials, Tristan Taylor founded the Canadian AI Advancement Institute and the International AI Advancement Institute to help people learn, adapt and succeed with AI. He wrote our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence textbook. In his Season 1 interview, he covers what generative AI has done to hiring, the difference between treating AI as a cost-cutting measure and an efficiency measure, and what he expects of AI literacy in the coming years.
AI literacy is where Canada has the furthest to go. KPMG Canada found that Canada ranked 44th of 47 countries in AI training and literacy, and 28th of 30 advanced economies. Canada’s national AI strategy, AI for All, now commits to a National AI Literacy Initiative offering entry-level AI training accessible to all Canadians. Our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence textbook and beginner courses start at that same entry point, drawing on the experts above so learners build their AI literacy with guidance from the people advancing AI.
Tristan Taylor also takes AI literacy into classrooms and communities in person. He served as one of the judges at UFV’s 2025 Community Ideation Jam, and as a senior division judge in digital technology at a regional science fair, where students presented projects on deepfake detection and machine learning. UFV has also profiled him, as an alumnus, for his work in AI learning.
Adina Gray is the founder of PurpleOwl AI, an AI training and consulting practice, and spent twenty years in post-secondary education before it. She taught for about fifteen years in the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, where she served as an AI champion and thought leader, helping to shape and organize its AI summits. She speaks internationally on what AI means for teaching, learning, and work. Adina recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in July 2026.
Angelica Lim is an Associate Professor Practitioner in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, where she directs the ROSIE Lab. Angelica is a Canada CIFAR AI Chair, focusing on robots and AI systems that read and respond to human social behaviour, an initiative she led with the emotion and expressivity teams behind the Pepper humanoid robot in France. Angelica recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in July 2026.
Atif Malik is the founder and Chief AI Officer of Zarori, an AI governance firm in Windsor, Ontario. He is a talented AI governance and security expert, contributing the subject-matter expertise behind a national standard for patient-visible and accountable AI in clinical decision support with the Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGC-DGSI). He has spent more than fifteen years advising healthcare, government, and enterprise clients on high-stakes technology. Atif recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in May 2026.
Daryl Hatton is a Vancouver entrepreneur and the CEO of ConnectionPoint, the collaborative funding company behind the FundRazr, Crowdfundr, and CoCoPay platforms. He helped take an enterprise software company to a NASDAQ listing in 1999, rebuilt it after the dot-com crash, and sold it in 2008, the same year he founded FundRazr. Daryl shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in January 2025, and those insights are cited in our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course and in our course on AI ethics and security.
Derek Froese is the founder and President of Koala Technology Ltd., an IT consulting firm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, that has grown from IT support into digital adoption consulting, business automation, and AI. He works with clients across Canada, and much of his practice helps small and medium-sized businesses address their IT and automation needs. Derek shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in January 2025, and returned to record a Season 1 expert insight interview. In addition, Derek has supported the CAIAI in its ongoing engagements with UFV, including as a judge at the 2026 Community Ideation Jam (Changemaking with AI).
Dr. Greg Lee is Lead Data Scientist at Fundmetric in Halifax, where he builds the machine learning systems behind the company’s charitable giving predictions, and an Associate Professor, currently on leave, in the Jodrey School of Computer Science at Acadia University. He is the lead author on the company’s published research. Greg recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in July 2026.
Frincy Clement is an award-winning AI leader and an advocate for women in technology. She leads Women in AI across North America, has around a decade of experience across telecommunications, IT, and consumer goods, and works in AI governance with Standards Council Canada. Frincy shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in January 2025, and those insights are cited across many of our courses, including our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course.
Jaxson Khan is a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, where he teaches a master’s course on AI policy and co-directs the AI Competitiveness Project; he is also the founder and chief executive of the strategy firm Aperture AI. He previously served as a senior policy advisor to Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. Jaxson recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in July 2026.
Kat Callaghan is a Canadian broadcaster and voice artist who has worked in radio since 2006, and she is the Digital Media Host of the Canadian AI Advancement Institute, where she conducts our Season 1 expert insight interviews. Her voice was used to train one of TikTok‘s text-to-speech models. Kat recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in July 2026.
Keenan Beavis is the founder of Longhouse Branding & Marketing, a Langley, British Columbia firm he started in 2017 and has since grown into a nationally recognized agency. He is a Métis entrepreneur, a co-author on search engine optimization, and the creator of AnswerMapping, a framework for getting a business recommended by AI answer engines. Keenan shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and those insights are cited in our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course.
Keith Jansa is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Governance Council, a Canadian organization whose standards guide the nation’s digital technology standards, including AI standards. He works with senior leaders across Canada on how to govern digital systems and ensure a safe, ethical and successful future for AI adoption in Canada and across the globe. Keith shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and returned to record a Season 1 expert insight interview.
Mariami Tkeshelashvili is the Director for Artificial Intelligence Security Policy at the Institute for Security and Technology in Washington, where she leads the AI Risk Reduction Initiative. She brings over a decade of experience in international security and global governance, and has published research on AI compliance failures and on how policymakers might see an AI loss-of-control incident coming. Mariami shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and we cite those insights across many of our courses, including Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.
Mark Hobbs is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fundmetric, a Halifax company that builds machine learning and data infrastructure for fundraising in charities and universities. He started it in 2013 and has co-authored peer-reviewed research on predicting donor behaviour with neural networks. Mark shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in December 2024, and returned to record a Season 1 expert insight interview in July 2026.
Matthew da Mota is Research Director, Emerging Technology and National Security at the Canadian Shield Institute, where he works on Canadian economic sovereignty, focusing on AI, defence, and dual-use technology. He previously ran the Global AI Risks Initiative at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Matthew shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in October 2025, and we cite them across many of our courses, including Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.
Patrick Tammer leads Strategy and Operations in Google‘s AI and infrastructure group and previously served as a senior investment director at Scale AI, Canada’s AI global innovation cluster, where he invested in more than a hundred companies and AI implementation projects. He edits the Harvard/MIT Journal of Business and Artificial Intelligence and shares insights on his own platforms and in various outlets. Patrick shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and returned to record a Season 1 expert insight interview.
Revan MacQueen is a machine learning engineer at RL Core Technologies in Edmonton, where he builds reinforcement learning agents that control industrial processes. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Alberta, where he studied under James R. Wright; his research on self-play in multiplayer games was published at NeurIPS, and he has taught machine learning foundations at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. Revan shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and returned to record a Season 1 expert insight interview.
Sireesha Chavali is a data engineer and AI safety advocate based in Edinburgh, Scotland, who works on data pipelines and conversational AI using Google BigQuery, Microsoft Azure, and Power Apps. She serves as Partnership Lead on the USA operations team at Women in AI, and teaches practical AI skills to professionals at MIT. Sireesha shared written expert insights with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in September 2025, and we cite those insights in our Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course.
Tiffany MacLennan is a higher education policy researcher at Boreal Education, a Canadian online program management company that helps institutions build distance, hybrid, and online programs. Previously, she was Senior Research Associate and Project Lead at Higher Education Strategy Associates, where she worked on institutional strategy, governance, and student success, and hosted and produced the firm’s higher education podcast. Tiffany recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in June 2026.
Timothy King works with CyberSci, Canada’s national cyber security challenge, which runs regional and national competitions for college and university students across the country. He comes to it from the Information and Communications Technology Council, where, as an Education and Emerging Technologies Specialist, he built cyber and digital skills education nationally, and from the computer technology classroom he taught in from 2007 at Centre Wellington District High School in rural Ontario. Timothy recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in May 2026.
Tristan Taylor is the founder of the Canadian AI Advancement Institute and the International AI Advancement Institute, which he started to help people learn, adapt and succeed with AI, at home in Canada and internationally. He is based in Langley, British Columbia, and wrote CAIAI’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence textbook. Tristan recorded a Season 1 expert insight interview with the Canadian AI Advancement Institute in May 2026.
Everything on this page feeds the education we deliver. Learners meet these insights in our courses and in the certification built on them, and institutions and organizations can bring the same material to their people through a course partnership. Experts who want to share their own insights with our learners can apply to be featured.
These posts cover subjects our experts speak to, from ethical adoption and safe implementation to machine learning.
Learners or employers are usually unaware of opportunities to pay for their learning. We have shared resources to help you identify available funding opportunities, including scholarships for individuals and grant programs for individuals and employers.
Apply for a scholarship through our Canadian AI scholarships page. In addition, visit our Canadian AI grant funding page to see what individuals or employers can apply for.
Tell us whether you want to share your own insights, bring expert-informed AI education to your organization, or find the courses a particular expert contributed to, and we’ll follow up.
Our mission is to help Canadians learn, adapt and succeed with AI. Our contributing experts are central to that work: they give their time and insight so that learners in Canada and around the world study AI with guidance from the researchers, businesspeople, strategists, and changemakers moving it forward. We are grateful to every one of them.
