ABC: partnership on algorithmic bias and safety in Canada

who we are

ABC is a University of Toronto-based interdisciplinary research initiative focused on understanding and addressing algorithmic bias in Canada.Through academic collaboration, public engagement, and partnerships with industry, government, and Indigenous communities, we aim to promote understanding about the effects of algorithmic bias and to shape more equitable AI systems.

news

> Speakers for our Fall 2026 seminar series have been announced. See our line-up below!> The ABC Partinership was featured in an article published by the Faculty of Arts and Science titled "When the algorithm is wrong: A new partnership calls out racism in AI systems." Read here> ABC postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Miron Clay-Gilmore, co-hosts the podcast series, "Algorithms of Empire". Listen here> ABC postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Miron Clay-Gilmore has a new article out in American Philosophical Quarterly: "Paradoxes of Being": Read here

ABC seminar seriesFall 2026
wednesdays 3:00-5:00pm
Centre for Ethics
15 Devonshire Place

sept 16
Leonard Harris
Purdue University
Necro-Being and the Limits of Ethical Theory

sept 30
Ashique KhudaBukhsh
Rochester Institute of Technology
tba

oct 14
Ellen Abrams
University of Toronto
tba

nov 4
Ahmed Ilmi
University of Toronto
tba

nov 18
Evan Light
University of Toronto
tba

dec 2
Beth Coleman
University of Toronto
tba

ABC events

-------------------------------------------------The Technologization of Counterinsurgency
10 February, 2026A special event at the Centre for Ethics, sharing a data visualization exhibition published by the Clay-Gilmore Institute that examines the algorithmic management of racialized life--a condition in which the logic of counterinsurgency has migrated from the battlefiedl to the domestic sphere.
-------------------------------------------------AI Companions
14 January, 2026A special event at the Centre for Ethics, with speakers Yiran Hua, Michael Inzlicht and Paul Bloom discuss ethical questions surrounding AI companions.
-------------------------------------------------The Ethics of Griefbots
11-12 December, 2025A workshop on the ethics of griefbots held at the Centre for Ethics with speakers Hugo Cossette-Lefebvre, Jenny Lau, Anna Su, Daniel Buchman, Yiran Hua, and Karina Vold-------------------------------------------------Technophilosophy Soiree on AI Companionship
16 September, 2025A public event held at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society with speakers Jelena Markovic, Michael Inzlicht, Anastasia Kuzminykh, Jocelyn Maclure, and Karina Vold discuss ethical questions surrounding AI companions.

members

William Paris
(PI)Professor of Philosophy, University of TorontoResearch areas: history of African American philosophy, critical theory, political philosophy

Karina Vold
(PI)Professor of Philosophy, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology and the Department of Philosophy, University of TorontoResearch areas: philosophy of AI, cognitive science, mind, ethics of technology

Sergio Tenenbaum
(PI)Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Centre for Ethics, University of TorontoResearch areas: Ethics, Practical Reason, Philosophy of Action, Kant

Miron Clay-Gilmore
(Postdoctoral Fellow)Centre for Ethics, University of TorontoResearch areas: philosophy of AI, race, Africana philosophy, black male studies

Leena Abdelrahim
(Graduate Fellow)PhD student in the Department of Philosophy, University of TorontoResearch areas: social epistemology, social philosophy, artificial intelligence, philosophy of race.

Ellen Abrams
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of TorontoResearch areas: history of science and mathematics, STS, critical data studies

Ishtiaque Ahmed
(Collaborator)Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of TorontoResearch areas: computer science, responsible AI, Human-Computer Interaction AI policy

Rima Basu
(Collaborator)Associate Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna CollegeResearch areas: ethics, epistemology, philosophy of race, social philosophy

Gideon Christian
(Collaborator)Professor of AI and Law, University Excellence Research Chair in AI and Law, University of CalgaryResearch areas: AI and Law, environmental impacts of new and emerging technologies

Andrea Cheung
(Intern)Undergraduate student double majoring in Ethics, Society & Law and Women & Gender Studies, University of TorontoResearch areas: Responsible AI, Indigenous Reconciliation, Privacy in Biometric Technologies

Ryoa Chung
(Collaborator)Professor of Philosophy, Université de MontréalResearch areas: international relations, feminist studies, political philosophy, global health

Jerome Clarke
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion, American UniversityResearch areas: technology ethics, critical philosophy of race, social philosophy

Beth Coleman
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology; Knowledge Media Design Institute Director, University of TorontoResearch areas: STS, data, responsible AI, race, smart technologies

Rachel Cripps
(Graduate Fellow)PhD student in the Department of Philosophy, University of TorontoResearch areas: philosophy of AI, alignment, climate and environmental ethics

Jesslyn Dymond
(Collaborator)Director of Data Ethics at TELUS leading the approach to responsible data-driven innovation, drawing on a background of privacyResearch areas: Responsible AI, AI Governance, Data Ethics, Indigenous Reconciliation

Sina Fazelpour
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science, Northeastern UniversityResearch areas: philosophy of AI, cognitive science, computational social science

Helena Gagnier
(Collaborator)Strategy Manager, Data Ethics & Trust Engagement at TELUSResearch areas: data ethics, responsible AI, public trust in technology

Emily Huynh
(Intern)Undergraduate student double majoring in Molecular Genetics & Microbiology and Cell & Molecular Biology, University of TorontoResearch areas: ethics of AI, philosophy of AI, responsible AI

Gabbrielle Johnson
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna CollegeResearch areas: philosophy of cognitive science, psychology, and AI, social bias

Edward Jones-Imhotep
(Collaborator)Professor and Director on leave of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and TechnologyResearch areas: history of science and technology, esp. the social and cultural life of machines

Yoelit Lipinsky
(Collaborator)Data Ethicist at TELUSResearch areas: data ethics, responsible AI

Jocelyn Maclure
(Collaborator)Professor of Philosophy and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair on Human Nature and Technology at McGill UniversityResearch areas: ethics, political philosophy, the philosophy of AI and social epistemology

Kimiya Missaghi
(Collaborator)PhD Candidate in the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies, University of OttawaResearch areas: STS, ethics of AI, feminist migration studies, refugee governance

Julia Minarik
(Graduate Fellow)PhD student in the Department of Philosophy, University of TorontoResearch areas: Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology, Aesthetics, Pragmatism

Osonde A. Osoba
(Collaborator)Professor of Policy Analysis, RAND School of Public PolicyResearch areas: machine learning, policy analysis, algorithmic bias, AI safety

Zachary Smith
(Collaborator)Associate Director of the Chiefs of Ontario's (COO) Research and Data Management (RDM) sector

Petrina van Nieuwstadt
(Intern)Undergraduate student specializing in Philosophy, University of Torontoethics of AI, algorithm bias, political epistemology, philosophy of religion, critical theory

Kristin Voigt
(Collaborator)Associate Professor with the Institute for Health and Social Policy and Department of Philosophy, McGill UniversityResearch areas: moral philosophy, applied ethics, health and social policy

Benjamin Wald
(Collaborator)Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Univeristy of TorontoResearch areas: ethics of AI, moral theory and philosophy of action

partners

University of Toronto

Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto

Centre de recherche en éthique/Centre for Research in Ethics (CRÉ), Québec

Chiefs of Ontario

Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto

Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, University of Toronto

Data & Trust Office, TELUS Corporation

research

2026

> Paradoxes of Being
Clay-Gilmore, M. Lopez, S., and Taylor Jr., MR. (2026) American Philosophical Quarterly 63 (2): 169-181.> A Taxonomy of AI Value Alignment Problems
Harris, D., Vold, K., Kumar, H., Ashton, A. (2026). ACM/AAAI AI Ethics and Society Conference Proceedings.> Contemporary Issues in Black Philosoophy
Clay-Gilmore, M. et al. (2026) American Philosophical Quarterly 63(2): 111-117.> Augmenting Military Decision Making with Artificial Intelligence
Vold, K. (2026). Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance.> We Need Large Language Models Optimized For Our Well-Being
Anderson, A., Kumar, H., Vold, K. and Tay, L., (2026). Position paper at the 2026 International Conference for Machine Learning (ICML'26).> Notes from Inside th Killing Machine
Clay-Gilmore, M. (2026) Philosophy and Global Affairs 6(1): 141-177.> Ethical Considerations in using Artificial Intelligence in Organ Transplantation.
Vold, K., Orlandi, M., Hall, J., Huynh, E., Katz, R., and Gross, J. To appear in the University of Toronto Press. Eds. M. Bhat and A. Sidhu.

2025

> Hunting for humans: on slavery, the emergence of the US as the world’s first super industrial state and its deployment of artificial intelligence and other military technology to repress dissent and neutralize enemy combatants.
Clay-Gilmore, M. (2025). AI Ethics 5, 3743–3762.> Race, Time, and Utopia: Critical Theory and the Process of Emancipation
Paris, W. (2025). Oxford University Press.> The hard proxy problem: proxies aren't intentional; they're intentional.
Johnson, G. M. (2025). Philosophical Studies Vol. 182, 1383-1411.> Residual Mobilities and Religious Practices: Exploring the Experiences of the Hindu Migrants in Canada.
Bhattacharjee, A., Rifat, M.R., Das, D., Taiabul Haque, S.M., and Ahmed, S.I. (2025.) Proceedings of the ACM Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 9(2), Article CSCW159> Value inheritance: the transmission of values through cognitive extenders.
Gagnier, H. (2025). Synthese, Vol. 206, Issue 156.> Finding Consensus on Trust in AI in Healthcare: Recommendations from a Panel of International Experts
Starke, G., Gille, F., Termine, A., Vold, K. et al. (2025). Journal of Medical Internet Research 27, e:56306.> Exploring the Roots of the Slave Mentality: Phallicism, Genocidal Violence, Homoeroticism and Rape in the Jewish Holocaust and American Police-State Clary-Gilmore, M. (2025) Journal of African American Studies 28 (3).

2024

> Bias, Norms, and Function: comments on Thomas Kelly's Bias: A Philosophical Study.
Johnson, G. M. (2024). Philosophical Studies Vol. 182, 3025-3035.> Human-centric AI: perspectives on trust and the future of AI (2025) Responsible AI Report by TELUS.> The Value of Disagreement in AI Design, Evaluation, and Alignment.
Fazelpour, S., & Fleisher, W. (2025). FAccT 2025, 2138-2150.> The Black Androids: A Chrestomathy.
Diagne, A., Grenon, E., Hasan, S., Johnstone, H., Jones-Imhotep, E., Offord, A., Young, N.O., Rudder, S. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (2024). Vol. 54(3): 407–421.> Striking the empire back: Dr. Strangelove and the global histories of technology.
Jones-Imhotep, E. (2024). History and Technology, 40(1–2), 4–17.> Racial Bias in AI should be the immediate concern.
Christian, G. (2024). Policy Options.> The Challenges of Thick Diversity, Polarization, Debiasing, and Tokenization for Cross-Group Teaching: Some Critical Notes
Basu, R. (2024). In NOMOS LXVI: Civic Education in Polarized Times, eds. Eric Beerbohm and Elizabeth Beaumont, NYU Press> The New Jim Crow: Unmasking Racial Bias in AI Facial Recognition Technology within the Canadian Immigration System.
Christian, G. (2024). McGill Law Journal 69(4), 441-466.> Varieties of bias.
Johnson, G. M. (2024). Philosophy Compass 19(7), e13011.> Legal framework for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the Canadian criminal justice system.
Christian, G. (2024). Canadian Journal of Law & Technology 21(2), 109–132.> Systemic and Epistemic Racism in the History of Technology.
Jones-Imhoptep, E., Bhimull, C., Hecht, G., Chakanetsa Mavhunga, C., Nakamura, L., and Siddiqi, A. (2022). Technology and Culture, Vol. 63(2): 935-952.

acknowledgmentWe wish to acknowledge the land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, it is still home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to convene our project on this land.