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I work towards a world where the integration of AI in society is grounded in human rights. To achieve this, I uncover the politics and hidden values that are encoded in the design, development, and use of (generative) AI systems.

I have worked on the topic of AI since 2017, when I worked for a summer with Prof. Urs Gasser on the Special Projects team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

Byte Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 2

Writing

✨ New! Yuan Y. Stevens & Ma’n H. Zawati. Transparency, Evaluation and Going From “Ethics-Washing” to Enforceable Regulation: On Machine Learning-Driven Clinician Decision Aids, American Journal of Bioethics, 2024

Christelle Tessono, Yuan Stevens, Momin M. Malik, Sonja Solomun, Supriya Dwivedi & Sam Andrey. AI Oversight, Accountability and Protecting Human Rights: Comments on Canada’s Proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2022

Yuan Stevens, Ana Qarri, Sam Andrey & Joe Masoodi. Face Recognition Technology for the Protection of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct and Parliament Hill? Potential Risks and Considerations, The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2022

Anonymous, Ana Brandusescu, Alan Chan, Fernando Diaz, Andrés Ferraro, Alex Ketchum, Fenwick McKelvey, Jimin Rhim, Shalaleh Rismani, Renée Sieber, Jonathan Sterne & Yuan Stevens. Comments on the Toronto Police Services Board Proposed Policy on AI Technologies, Montréal Society and Artificial Intelligence Collective (MoSAIC), 2021

Submitted to the Toronto Police Services Board

Yuan Stevens & Ana Brandusescu. Weak Privacy, Weak Procurement: The State of Facial Recognition in Canada, The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, McGill University, 2021

Benoît Dupont, Yuan Stevens, Hannes Westermann & Michael Joyce. Artificial Intelligence in the Context of Crime and Criminal Justice, The International Centre for Comparative Criminology, Université de Montréal, 2019

Sonja Solomun, Yuan Stevens & Julia Bugiel. Study on the Use and Impact of Facial Recognition Technology, on behalf of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, McGill University and The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2022

Submitted to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics (ETHI)

Yuan Stevens & Sonja Solomun. Facing the Realities of Facial Recognition Technology: Recommendations for Canada’s Privacy Act, on behalf of The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University 2021

Submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Yuan Stevens. Parasitic Platforms: Addressing Surveillance Capitalism Through Face Recognition Technology, Artificial Intelligence in the City: Building Civic Engagement and Public Trust, McGill University, 2022

Kate Stapleton & Yuan Stevens. AI Powered Malware: The New Frontier for Cybersecurity, Medium, 2019

Yuan Stevens. Three Reasons Why Canadians Should Know About Deepfakes Now, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 2019
Yuan Stevens. The Promises and Perils of AI: Why Human Rights and the Rule of Law Matter, Medium, 2017

Speaking

✨ New! From Code to Care: Regulating AI in Canadian Healthcare, Governing the Real-World Application of Medical AI, Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, University of Hong Kong, Nov. 2024

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Submissions and Decision Making: Benefits, Challenges, and Concerns, Advanced Administrative Law & Practice, The Canadian Institute, Ottawa, Canada, Oct. 2024

Ma’n H. Zawati, Yuan Stevens & Marc Fiume. Generative AI for Genomic Data Sharing, Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) 12th Plenary, Melbourne, Australia, Sept. 2024

Yuan Stevens. Markets, Architectures, Norms or Law? Regulation Automated Face Recognition in Canada, Digital Democracies Institute, Simon Fraser University, 2022

Yuan Stevens, Sonja Solomun & Sam Andrey. Facing the Realities of Facial Recognition Technology: Improved Data Protection Regulation to Protect Vulnerable Populations, Actualizing AI — EPIC Symposium on AI Regulation, 2021

Ana Brandusescu, Yuan Stevens, Nabeel Ahmed, Jess Reia & Valentine Goddard. Artificial Intelligence Policy and Funding in Canada, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montréal, McGill University, 2021

Yuan Stevens. Move Fast and Break Things? Montréal’s Role in the Global AI Industry, Disrupting Disruptions: Feminist and Accessible Publishing, Communications, and Technologies, The Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, McGill University, 2020

Yuan Stevens & Valentine Cheviron. Pre-Litigation Automated Decision Tools: Orienting Litigants and Defendants, Autonomy through Cyberjustice Technologies Annual Meeting, Université de Montréal, 2019

Hannes Westermann & Yuan Stevens. Crime and Punishment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, LexUM Chair on Legal Information, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, 2019

Vincent Southerland, Yuan Stevens & Fahad Diwan. Discrimination, AI & the Criminal Justice System, McGill AI & Law, Faculty of Law, McGill University, 2018

In The News

How a New Jersey Man was Wrongly Arrested Through Facial Recognition Tech Now in Use in Ontario – CBC News, June 2024
Evolving Police Tech or ‘Slippery Slope’? Facial Recognition Partnership in Peel and York Has Critics Concerned – The Toronto Star, May 2024
Data Privacy as a Human Right Must Be Recognized by Privacy and AI Bill, Say Advocates – The Hill Times, May 2024
Use of Facial Recognition as Security Tool on Parliament Hill Would Pose Risks: Study – CTV News, Aug. 2022
La Police d’Edmonton Utilise la Technologie de Reconnaissance Faciale – The CBC/Radio-Canada, Feb. 2022

RCMP Wants to Use AI to Learn Passwords in Investigations, but Experts Warn of Privacy Risks – The Globe & Mail, Nov. 2021

Facial Recognition Technology ‘Fundamentally Undemocratic,’ says Angus as Critics Wary of Political Use – The Hill Times, July 2021

Could Face and Voice Recognition Become the New ’Phrenology’? – CBC Spark, June 2021

Workshops and Roundtables

The Future of Data and AI, Policy Horizons Canada, Government of Canada, 2024

AI in the City Symposium: Roundtable on Public Trust and AI, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montréal, McGill University, 2022

Models for Online Platform Data Access for Researchers: Existing Efforts and Future Opportunities, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2021

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