Data Ethics Protocols for Immigrant Serving Organizations and Newcomer Privacy Protection
Sub-Theme: ADTs in Immigration Governance
The sub-theme 'ADTs in Immigration Governance' considers the impact of advanced digital technologies on immigration governance in the past, present, and future, in Canada and in comparative perspective.
Objective
Privacy is a fundamental human right as well as a recognized right in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Yet, in a context of rapidly changing advanced digital technologies (ADTs), privacy protection can be quickly outdated, carrying consequences for both individuals and groups, as well as for human rights. This project seeks to better understand a series of questions concerning privacy and data security in the contexts of ADTs and immigration in Canada today.
Research Questions
- What sorts of data are collected by immigrant serving organizations (ISOs), and what sorts of privacy and data security issues might they carry?
- How do immigrants access ADTs and use ADTs? What do they think is going to happen to their data?
- Are ADTs largely seen positively or negatively? How can they be improved to better serve immigrants?
- To what extent are newcomers as well as staff at ISOs aware of privacy issues at stake with ADTs?
Methodology
This work incorporates a mixed methods design involving document collection through document analysis and/or interviews with ISO staff in medium and large sized Canadian cities (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver), alongside survey research.
Status
The project is ongoing, multiple outcomes are being produced.
Expected completion date: September 2026
Outcomes
Past events and conferences:
鈥淔orging interpretation with generative AI鈥�, presented by Geoffrey Rockwell, panel on 鈥淕enerative AI, LLMs, and Knowledge Structures鈥�, Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences 鈥� Congress 2025, Toronto, Canada, June 2025
鈥淢oral responsibility and artificial intelligence鈥�, keynote presentation by Geoffrey Rockwell, Canada AI 2025, Calgary, Canada, May 2025
鈥淓mpowering minds: Navigating the future with AI literacy鈥�, fireside chat co-presented by Geoffrey Rockwell, UpperBound 2025, Edmonton, Canada, May 2025
鈥淲hy should AI be safe and responsible?鈥�, keynote presentation by Geoffrey Rockwell, Philosophy Graduate Student Group Conference on Philosophical Issues in Artificial Intelligence, Edmonton, Canada, May 2025
鈥淯sing large language models to develop a web site鈥�, workshop led by Geoffrey Rockwell, Re-Sounding Poetries Conference, Kelowna, Canada, May 2025
鈥淐ase studies in AI ethics鈥�, workshop led by Geoffrey Rockwell, Edmonton Public School Board Student AI Conference, Edmonton, Canada, April 2025
鈥淲hat is responsible about responsible AI鈥�, institute lecture by Geoffrey Rockwell, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, February 2025
鈥淩esponsible AI and digital humanities鈥�, keynote presentation by Geoffrey Rockwell, Digital Humanities and AI: Intersections, Innovations, and Implications Conference, Dhanbad, India, January 2025.
More past events and conferences:
- 鈥淎I Ethics Bowl鈥� organized and led by Rockwell for 鈥淔rom Data to Decision鈥� (FD2D), a NSERC CREATE-funded program, December 2024.
- 鈥淚mpacts of Deepfakes in Alberta鈥� virtual engagement session attended by Rockwell as an academic subject matter expert, organized by the Government of Alberta鈥檚 Ministry of Technology and Innovation.
- 鈥淐hinook: The Use of Advanced Digital Technologies in Visa Processing in Canada鈥� presented online by Farhanghar, Association for Computers and the Humanities conference, November 2024.
- 鈥淭elegram Tales: A Critical Digital Analysis of Canadian Immigration Discourse鈥� presented by Khemka, Canadian Ethnic Studies Association Conference, Edmonton, AB, November 14-16, 2024.
Key words
ADTs; Advanced digital technologies; data ethics; immigration; privacy protection
