Blair Attard-Frost

Curriculum Vitae

Education

PhD, Information Studies – University of Toronto (2019 – 2025, supervised by Professor Kelly Lyons)

  • Thesis: The Impacts and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: A Transfeminist Perspective (Read here)

Master of Information (MI), Knowledge Management & Information Management – University of Toronto (2014 – 2016)

Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA), English specialist, Writing & Rhetoric minor – University of Toronto (2007 – 2014)

Employment History

Visit me on LinkedIn for more details about my work experience.

Assistant Professor, University of Alberta (July 2025 – Present)

  • Tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science
  • Fellow at Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii)

Course Instructor, University of Toronto

  • Spring 2024 & Spring 2025 at Faculty of Information – Designed and delivered INF1005/1006: Artificial Intelligence Policy
  • Fall 2024 & Spring 2024 at Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy – Designed and delivered PPG2016: Ethics & Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Public Policy

Teaching Assistant, University of Toronto Faculty of Information

  • Fall 2022 – INF2176: Information Management in Organizations – Models & Platforms
  • Spring 2022 – INF2210: Human Values in Data Science
  • Fall 2019 – INF1003: Information Systems, Services, & Design

Research Assistant, University of Toronto Faculty of Information – SSHRC-funded Seeking and Avoiding Information in a Risky World Project with Professor Chun Wei Choo (2020-2021)

Strategic Advisor, ResearchAI (2019)

National Director, ResearchAI (2019)

Research & Information Strategy Associate, Toronto Metropolitan University (2018-2019)

Digital Transformation Consultant, freelance (2017-2018)

Freedom of Information Analyst, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (2016-2017)

Information Management Intern, Legislative Assembly of Ontario (2016)

Research Intern, Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (2015)

Honours & Awards

2025: SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (Awarded, terminated upon beginning faculty appointment at University of Alberta).

2025: 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2025

2021-2024: SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral

2019-2020, 2020-2021, & 2024-2025: Ontario Graduate Scholarship

2019, 2020, 2021, & 2022: Faculty of Information Excellence Award

2016: Ontario Library Association Anniversary Prize (Highest GPA in graduating masters class)

2016: Letter of Achievement – Beta Phi Mu, the International Library and Information Studies Honor Society (Graduated with GPA of 3.9 or greater)

2015: ARMA Toronto Chapter Award

2014: Samuel James Stubbs Award

2014 & 2010: Norma Epstein Foundation Award in Creative Writing

Publications

In-Press
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025). Realness. (Forthcoming essay on generative AI & extended reality governance in Predictions, Mattering Press, Eds. M. Hogan, S. Laser., & E. Ongweso).
  • Attard-Frost, B. & Hayes, H. A. (2024). Valuing value chains: The governance of AI value chains in Canada. Pre-print available on SSRN. (Forthcoming chapter in Regulating Digital, University of Toronto Press)
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
  • Hung, K-H., Katrak, M., Li, X. L., & Attard-Frost, B. (2025). Canada’s high-stakes AI gamble: Innovation policy, techno-nationalism, and the political economy of jobs. Global Political Economy, September 2025
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025). Transfeminist AI governance.  First Monday, 30(4), April 2025.
  • Attard-Frost, B. & Widder, D. G. (2025). The ethics of AI value chains. Big Data & Society, 12(2), April-June.
  • Attard-Frost, B. & Lyons, K. (2024). AI governance systems: A multi-scale analysis framework, empirical findings, and future directions. AI and Ethics, 5, 2557-2604.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Brandusescu, A., & Lyons, K. (2024). The governance of artificial intelligence in Canada: Findings and opportunities from a review of 84 AI governance initiatives. Government Information Quarterly, 41(2), June 2024, 101929.
  • Attard-Frost, B., De los Ríos, A., & Walters, D. R. (2023). The ethics of AI business practices: A review of 47 AI ethics guidelines. AI and Ethics, 3, 389-406.
  • Frost, R B. (2020). Emerging national artificial intelligence innovation systems in Canada and China: Strategic governance and institutional evolution. SPACES Online: Spatial Aspects Concerning Economic Structures, 16(1).
  • Frost, R. & Lyons, K. (2017). Service systems analysis methods and components: A systematic literature review. Service Science, 9(3), 219-234.
  • Frost, R. B. & Choo, C. W. (2017). Revisiting the information audit: A systematic literature review and synthesis. International Journal of Information Management, 37(1), 1380-1390.
Book Chapters
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025). Algorithmic justice vs. state power. In R. Butalid, C. Wright, I. K. Garcia, K. Baritugo, & Z. Mustin (Eds.), State of AI Ethics Report, Vol. 7 (58-59). Montreal AI Ethics Institute.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025). AI regulation in a post-reality world. In J. Reia, M. Forelle, & Y. Wang (Eds.), Reimagining AI for Environmental Justice and Creativity. (46-48). Digital
    Technology for Democracy Lab, University of Virginia.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023). Queering intelligence: A theory of intelligence as performance and a critique of individual and artificial intelligence. In M. Klipphahn-Karge, A.-K. Koster, & S. Morais dos Santos Bruss (Eds.), Queer Reflections on AI: Uncertain Intelligences (23-39). Routledge.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022). Public service, public-as-a-service, and public self-service: The case of Sidewalk Toronto. In A. Brandusescu & J. Reia (Eds.), AI in the City: Building Civic Engagement and Public Trust. (42-44). Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal, McGill University.
  • Frost, R. B., Cheng, M., & Lyons, K. (2019). A multilayer framework for service system analysis. In P. P. Maglio, C. A. Kieliszewski, J. C. Spohrer, K. Lyons, L. Patricio, & Y. Sawatani (Eds.), Handbook of Service Science, Volume II (285-306). Springer.
Research Reports
  • Hung, K.-H., Attard-Frost, B., Li, L. X., & Katrak, M. (2024). Canada case study. Artificial Intelligence Policy Observatory for the World of Work (AIPOWW), University of Essex and International Labour Organization.
  • Attard-Frost, B. & Lyons, K. (2024). Perceptions of Canada’s AI governance system: Findings from interviews with 20 government leaders & subject matter experts. Available on SSRN.
  • Bower, C. & Frost, R. (2018). Employment Sector Council’s Common Assessment Process: A case study of a collaborative community approach to service delivery, access, and excellence. Toronto: Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation.
  • Bailey, S. K. & Frost, R. (2018). Intergenerational healing and growth: A case study of the Aboriginal Skills Advancement Program. Toronto: Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation.
Policy Briefs
  • Attard-Frost, B., Brandusescu, A., & Sieber, R. (2023, November 6). Comments on “Guide on the use of Generative AI”.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, September 6). Comments on “Canadian Guardrails for Generative AI – Code of Practice”.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, June 5). Generative AI systems: Impacts on artists & creators and related gaps in the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.  Brief submitted to the Parliament of Canada Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. Available on OurCommons.ca.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, September 22). Comments on the 3rd Review of the Directive on Automated Decision-making.
Essays & Op-eds
  • Attard-Frost, B., Brandusescu, A., Widder, D. G., & Tessono, C. (2025, February 20). AI countergovernance: Lessons learned from Canada and Paris. Tech Policy Press.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, January 17). The death of Canada’s Artificial Intelligence and Data Act: What happened, and what’s next for AI regulation in Canada? Montreal AI Ethics Institute.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, December 16). AI countergovernance. Midnight Sun.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, November 22). Artificial intelligence in the interregnum. Heliotrope.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, February 21). Once a promising leader, Canada’s artificial-intelligence strategy is now a fragmented laggard. The Globe and Mail.
Comments In the News
  • Martin, S. (2025, December 16). Startup investigation reveals 50 peer-reviewed papers contained hallucinated citations. BetaKit. (Author requested and published by comments on AI detection tools & AI regulation).
  • Pasiuk, E. R. (2025, August 31). Alberta privacy commissioner wants province to create a ‘standalone law to regulate AI’. CBC News. (Author requested and published my comments on AI regulation in Canada).
  • CBC News: The National (2025, July 28). Interviewed as part of a story about the regulation of AI-generated deepfakes.
  • Whitten, E. (2025, July 15). This artist says AI art is ‘soulless,’ calls on St. John’s to stop taking AI submissions. CBC News (Author requested and published my comments on the ethics of AI art).
  • Ore, J. (2024, March 9). Could the next superstar radio host be an AI? Maybe not soon, but it is coming: experts. CBC Radio. (Author requested and published my comments on the ethics and economics of AI radio hosts).
  • Hemmadi, M. (2023, October 30). Digital rights advocates say Ottawa’s AI law still needs work – or a do-over. The Logic. (Author requested and published my comments on Canada’s proposed AI legislation).
  • Galea, I. (2023, September 27). Canadian tech companies sign on to AI code of conduct as law evolves. The Globe and Mail. (Author requested and published my comments on Canadian AI policy).
  • Samuel, S. (2023, August 29). Drawing a line. This Magazine. (Author requested and published my comments on the ethics of AI art).
  • Blome, T. (2023, February 27). ChatGPT und Bard: Search Wars, Episode zwei. Der Freitag. (Author requested and published my comments on AI ethics & regulation).
  • CBC News: The National (2022, December 11). Ethical concerns about popular AI-generated art portraits. CBC News. (Interviewed as part of a story about the ethics of AI art).
  • Balakrishnan, A. (2022, November 24). The Vector Institute at five. The Logic. (Author requested and published my comments on Canada’s AI governance approach).
  • Weaver, J. (2022, October 22). Technology has upended how art is created and consumed. Is that a good thing? CBC News. (Author requested and published my comments on the ethics and regulation of AI art).

Presentations & Appearances

Academic Conferences & Workshops
  • Attard-Frost, B., Brandusescu, A., Tessono, C., & Widder, D. G. (2025, February 8). AI countergovernance: Collective resistance and lessons learned from Canada’s national AI policy failure. Participatory AI Research & Practice Symposium. Sciences Po Paris.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, September 23-24). The AI governance value chain: Challenges for distributive justice & policy. Convening on Accountability & Political Economy of AI Supply Chains. Cornell Tech.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, May 23-24). The ontological crisis in artificial intelligence: Normative positions, interpretive frames, & future directions. (un)Stable Diffusions Symposium. Concordia University.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, June 16-17). The new ontologies of AI: A dilemma for AI governance. Hype, Hyper, or Over-hyped? A Student Symposium on Critical AI Studies in Canada, Concordia University.
  • Frost, R B. (2021, June 21-22). Intelligence as performance. Queer AI: On the Coming Out of Smart Machines, Technische Universität Dresden.
  • Frost, R B. (2020, October 22). AI governance systems: Ontological explorations in the Canadian context. CAIS 2020, Canadian Association for Information Science.
  • Frost, R. B., De los Rios, A. F., & Walters, D. R. (2020, July 27-28). Business practices and political economy in the AI ethics literature. EI4AI: Ethical Innovation for Artificial Intelligence, University of Toronto and University College London.
  • Frost, R. B. (2020, April 30-May 2). The queer æffects of information. “What is Information?” Conference, University of Oregon, Portland, OR, United States.
  • Frost, R. (2016, March 18 – 19). iVal: An information evaluation framework for knowledge workers. 2016 iSchool Student Conference, University of Toronto. Proceedings published in The iJournal, 1(2).
Invited Talks
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, December 2). Transing AI governance. Gender & Talk Online Talk Series: Trans-inclusive Technology Governance. University of Virginia.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, November 13). AI governance in Canada: Power, participation, & limitations. Opening talk for a virtual roundtable hosted by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, September 12). Power, participation, and limitations in the governance of artificial intelligence. Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Pro Seminar at University of Alberta.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, June 18). AI and its impact on trans people. DIY in the GPT age: Queer & trans zine-making workshop. Public talk and workshop for Canada Learning Code.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, November 18). AI ethics & trans resistance. National Virtual Event – Trans Day of Remembrance. Keynote talk & workshop session for Canada Learning Code.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, September 18). Rethinking AI governance: Justice, sustainability, and the future of AI. Ontario Public Service Finance Day Virtual Event – Demystifying AI: The Transformative Impacts for Public Sector Finance. Financial Management Institute of Canada – Ontario Chapter.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, April 18). Canada’s AI governance system. Ontario Digital Service.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, March 20). AI countergovernance: Opposing AI governance in theory & practice. University of Essex, Essex Business School.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, April 26). Research ethics planning as reflective practice. Government of Canada Research Ethics Community of Practice.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, December 6). The ethics of AI value chains: Implications for policy & practice. AI Ethics Speaker Series. Canada Revenue Agency: Research & Innovation Lab Directorate.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, October 19). AI governance and worker protections in Canada. Workshop: Proposal for an ILO Policy Observatory on Work in the Digital Economy. International Labour Organization.
Invited Panels
  • Ortiz, C. Attard-Frost, B., Rogers, L., & Saldaña, A. (2025, November 19). Humans optional? Reimagining work, power, and leadership in the age of AI. Keynote panel at QT Conference 2025. QueerTech.
  • Haggerty, K., Penney, S., Little, N., & Attard-Frost, B. (2025, September 18). Trailed by Timmies: Surveillance technology, AI and human futures. U of A Days at University of Alberta.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Laganse, C., Mordell, D., & Fink, J. (2025, July 27). Panel on “AI imaginaries, radical futurities, and speculative interventions.” Expanded Data. McMaster University Critical Data Studio.
  • Martineau, J., Deron, M., Folco, J. D., Attard-Frost, B., Bokuma, N., Becker, C., Siad, R., & Lambert, S. (2025, March 28). Digital power and its undoing: Resisting algorithmic domination, reclaiming tech futures. Concordia University.
  • Daley, D., Zed, J., Attard-Frost, B., Snyder, E., & Montoya, J. (2024, November 6). Panel on “Building a safe and inclusive AI future: The roles of government, tech, and users.” QT Conference 2024. QueerTech, Toronto.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Manning, R., Massari, M., Olson, M., & Straw, W. (2024, October 23). Panel on “When AI meets cultural policy, heritage, and creativity.” Reimagining AI for Environmental Justice and Creativity. University of Virginia: Karsh Institute of Democracy, UVA Environmental Institute, and UVA School of Data Science.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Ghosh, R., & Antwi, E. (2024, September 25). Panel on “Diverse knowledge systems in data and computer modeling.” 2nd Annual Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Workshop. Natural Resources Canada, AI-Quantum Community of Practice.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Draganic, L., & Hartman, L. (2024, September 21). Panel on “Queer rights and AI.” Out on Bay Street Conference 2024. Start Proud, Toronto.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Konnelly, L., Bobkin, M., & Reyes, M. (2024, June 27). Panel on “Connectedness, solidarity, and how to combat cis-het-normativity in AI/tech together.” Cohere Pride Camp. Cohere, Toronto.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Hickson, E., & Reyes, M. (2024, June 26). Panel on Responsible AI. QT Connect Meetup Toronto. QueerTech, Toronto.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Slater, D., & Zhang, L. (2024, May 30). Panel on “Navigating the AI regulatory landscape.” CanStudyUS Virtual Fellowship. The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University.
  • McKoy, C., Attard-Frost, B., Lubin, K.-L., & Dila, M. (2024, March 13). Co-creating AI futures: Design, ethics, and citizen engagement. DesignMeets. Toronto.
  • Barata, P., Attard-Frost, B., Ingram, K., & Madaio, M. (2024, February 7). Panel on “Building responsible AI ecosystems in Canadian colleges.” Charting the Course: AI’s Influence on Canadian Colleges. Canadian Council of College Futures, The Conference Board of Canada.
  • Vincent, M., Running Wolf, M., Çetin, R. B., & Attard-Frost, B. (2023, August 23). Panel on “Resisting unstable diffusions: Art and the governance of AI.” MUTEK Forum 2023: Future Currents. MUTEK Festival, Montréal.
  • Attard-Frost, B., Balakrishnan, A., Bednar, V., Kelln, R., & Upshur, R. (2023, May 20). Panel on “The promise and perils of AI”. Provocation Ideas Festival, Toronto.
  • Phan, M., Treviranus, J., & Attard-Frost, B. (2023, May 5). Data equity panel. GO Open Data Conference 2023 (GOOD23): Bridging the Open Divide. GO Open Data Association.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, November 16). The ethics of AI value chains: Implications for gender equality and the environment. Roundtable on Gender Equality in Digital Economies and the Environment. AI on a Social Mission 2022.
Guest Lectures
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, October 20, November 20, November 27). The impacts & governance of AI systems. LAW599, INT-D 161, CMPUT 200. University of Alberta, instructors Dr. Angela Lee, Dr. Adam White, Dr. Nidhi Hegde.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2025, March 17). Transitions/frictions: The design of object.type(3). ENG319H5: Sexuality, Race, and Gender in Video Games and Gaming Culture. University of Toronto Mississauga, course instructor Dr. Christine H. Tran.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2024, November 29). AI governance realities, fictions, and futures. HUMA1909: Technoscience and Popular Culture. York University Department of Humanities, course instructor Dr. Elisha Lim.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, November 14). Framework design for AI governance research. INF3003: Research in Information: Frameworks and Design. University of Toronto Faculty of Information, course instructor Dr. Leslie Shade.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, October 3). The governance of AI systems. INF2240: Political Economy and Cultural Studies of Information. University of Toronto Faculty of Information, course instructor Dr. Rafael Grohmann.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, August 2). The ethics of AI value chains: Implications for policy, practice, & HR. REI6615: Digital HR. Université de Montréal School of Industrial Relations, course instructor Dr. Pamela Lirio.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2023, February 28 & March 1). Moral dilemmas in data science. INF2210: Human Values in Data Science. University of Toronto Faculty of Information, course instructors Dr. Seamus Ross & Dr. Tegan Maharaj.
  • Attard-Frost, B. (2022, March 2). Moral dilemmas in data science. INF2210: Human Values in Data Science. University of Toronto Faculty of Information, course instructors Dr. Seamus Ross & Yolanda Zhang.
  • Frost, R. B. (2017, July 6). Information problem identification & information audits. INF2306: Designing for Knowledge Work. University of Toronto Faculty of Information, course instructor Dr. Colin Furness.
Podcast Episodes
  • Tech Policy Press (2024, February 11). Imagining AI Countergovernance.
  • The Data Fix with Dr. Mél Hogan (2023, June 12). Refusal, with Blair Attard-Frost.
  • The Gradient (2023, January 26). Blair Attard-Frost: Canada’s AI strategy and the ethics of AI business practices.

Service

Review & Adjudication

Area Chair, ACM FAccT Conference 2026.

Expert Review Panel Member, CIFAR Solution Networks in AI Safety, project proposal stream entitled “Mitigating the Risks of Synthetic Content” (2025)

Reviewer, “Algorithmic Collective Action” workshop at NeurIPS 2025.

Program Committee Member, ACM FAccT Conference 2025, “Law & Policy”, “Normative Foundations”, and “Power & Practice” tracks.

Reviewer, Trans Digital Rights: Improving Data Visibility, Privacy and Belonging for Gender-Diverse Communities. Report by Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, University of Virginia (2025)

Program Committee Member, ACM FAccT Conference 2024, “Law & Policy” and “Critical Studies” tracks

Reviewer, Northern Lights and Silicon Dreams: AI Governance in Canada (2011-2022). Report by Shaping AI, Concordia University (2024). 

Reviewer, AI and Ethics (2 papers) and AI & Society (1 paper) (2022 – 2023)

Advisory Committees & Engagements

Advisory Board Member, McGill University Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy – Gen(Z)AI Canadian Youth Citizens’ Assembly on AI (September 2025 – Present)

Advisory Board Member, QueerTech (April 2025 – Present)

AI Advisor, AI Skills Lab Canada (October 2024 – Present) 

Subject Matter Expert, Code for Canada – Strategic Planning Retreat (October 25, 2024)

Research Advisory Board Member, AI and the Future of Post-Secondary Education. The Conference Board of Canada (October 2023 – October 2024)

Community & Event Organizing

Co-organizer, “Roundtable on transgender issues in artificial intelligence policy” at RightsCon 2025 (February 26, 2025).

Workshop Co-organizer, “From Stem to Stern: Contestable AI Along AI Value Chains” at CSCW 2024 (November 9, 2024)

Co-organizer, Open letter to Minister François-Philippe Champagne: “Canada’s artists and creators are concerned about the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act” and “Canada’s Artificial Intelligence and Data Act: An Explainer for Artists & Creators” (2023)

Conference Co-organizer, EI4AI: Ethical Innovation for Artificial Intelligence, University of Toronto and University College London (July 27-28, 2020)

Workshop Co-organizer, “How has COVID-19 changed the development and adoption of data science across firms and industries?” at IBM EVOKE x CASCON 2020 (November 10-13, 2020)

Co-convener, The Ends of the Worlds reading group at the McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology (2020 – 2021)

Invited Policy Submissions, Roundtables, & Workshops

Roundtable Participant, Future of AI-enabled institutional decision-making. Policy Horizons Canada (June 4, 2024)

Co-author, Comments on “Guide on the Use of Generative AI” (Attard-Frost, B., Brandusescu, A., & Sieber, R.). Invited submission to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (November 6, 2023).

Working Group Member & Workshop Participant, Examining Approaches to Worker Led Governance of Data and AI Technologies. CIFAR (August 16-17, 2023)

Roundtable Participant, Joint Multi-stakeholder Roundtable on the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. Toronto Metropolitan University, The Dais, and McGill University Centre for Media, Technology, & Democracy (October 10, 2023)

Author, Comments on the 3rd review of the Directive on Automated Decision-making. Invited submission to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (September 22, 2022).

Structured Mentorship

Mentor, Munk School Mentorship Program (2 mentees, 2025)

Mentor, iSchool Research Mentorship Program (2 mentees, 2021 – 2022)

Editorial Boards

Founding Editor-in-Chief, The iJournal (2015 – 2016)

Associate Editor, IDIOM: English Undergraduate Academic Journal (2013 – 2014)

Associate Editor, University College Review (2012 – 2013)

Certificates

Customer Development – MaRS Discovery District (2019)

Exploratory Data Analysis – Johns Hopkins University (2015)

Getting and Cleaning Data – Johns Hopkins University (2015)

 

Last updated December 19, 2025