Evidence for Democracy Hosts "Beyond AI Literacy" Panel on Public Trust in AI — September 23, 2026

Evidence for Democracy, a Canadian nonprofit dedicated to evidence-informed public policy, is convening a virtual panel discussion examining what it will actually take to build public trust in artificial intelligence systems. The event responds directly to Canada's newly announced national AI strategy, which links the country's slow AI adoption to low public trust and limited AI literacy, an assumption the panel intends to challenge. Bringing together experts in AI safety, digital media literacy, science and technology policy, and democratic engagement, the discussion will explore how governance structures, technical reliability, and meaningful public participation shape whether communities trust the AI systems increasingly embedded in their daily lives. For NCDD's network, the event offers a timely case study in the intersection of technology governance and democratic legitimacy, and a reminder that literacy campaigns alone cannot substitute for accountable public engagement. The panel will also consider how AI's risks and benefits are distributed unevenly across different communities, a question central to equity-minded civic practice. The session takes place online on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 12 to 1 pm EST, and is open to academics, policymakers, advocacy groups, and members of the public. Read more in the blog post below.

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As artificial intelligence systems become more deeply woven into professional and personal life, from recommendation algorithms to agentic tools capable of acting without human oversight, the question of how to govern these systems in a way that earns public confidence has become urgent. Evidence for Democracy, an Ottawa-based organization focused on strengthening evidence-informed decision-making in Canada, is hosting a panel discussion that pushes back against a common assumption embedded in Canada's recently announced national AI strategy: that low public trust in AI stems primarily from a lack of public literacy. For NCDD's network of dialogue and deliberation practitioners, this reframing matters. It shifts the conversation away from simply educating the public and toward examining whether the institutions deploying AI are themselves structured to be accountable and trustworthy.

The panel brings together voices from digital media literacy, science and technology studies, and democratic policy research to examine trust in AI as a governance question rather than an individual knowledge gap. Discussion will focus on the roles that government oversight, technical reliability, and genuine public engagement play in determining whether AI systems function in the public interest. Panelists will also explore how the benefits and harms of AI are experienced unevenly across different communities, a framing that resonates with NCDD's long-standing commitment to equity and inclusion in civic and technological decision-making. By treating trust as something institutions must earn through transparent and participatory processes, rather than something the public must be taught to extend, the event models the kind of collaborative, deliberative approach to technology policy that NCDD's community regularly advocates for in other civic contexts.
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For practitioners working at the intersection of technology, governance, and public engagement, this panel offers a chance to hear directly from researchers and policy leaders shaping how AI trust and accountability are understood in Canada. The event is open to academics, researchers, policymakers, parliamentarians, congressional and legislative staff, students, advocacy organizations, and interested members of the public, and will be held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 12 to 1 pm EST. Attendees can expect a presentation of Evidence for Democracy's findings on public trust in AI, followed by a discussion of concrete measures needed to make AI systems more accountable to the communities they affect. Readers interested in participating can register through the organization's website at https://evidencefordemocracy.ca/beyond-ai-literacy-what-it-takes-to-earn-public-trust/