Although Canada is a leader in becoming the first nation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it is falling behind other countries in extended reality (XR) competitiveness. In this paper, the authors look at why Canada is lagging in this area and what can be done to bring the country up to speed with its peers.

The U.S.-led digital trade world order is under attack–by the U.S.

This year, America’s digital trade negotiator made a startling announcement at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The negotiator spoke at the behest of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Kathrine Tai. At the time, Congress and various U.S. regulatory agencies were considering new regulations for large tech companies, which meant that the U.S. would no longer support language at the WTO related to cross-border data flows. In the words of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. now needs “policy space” to regulate the tech giants.

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Comparing AI Regulatory Models: A Discussion With Professor Anu Bradford

Wednesday, August 9, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

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Global Data Governance Mapping Year Three Report

68 Countries plus the European Union, 5 continents, and 7 regions

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Data Governance In The Age of Generative AI

Thursday, Dec 7- 10:30 AM EST

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Building Trust in AI: A Landscape Analysis of Government AI Programs

As countries around the world expand their use of artificial intelligence (AI), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed the most comprehensive website on AI policy, the OECD.AI Policy Observatory. Although the website covers public policies on AI, the author of this paper found that many governments failed to evaluate or report on their AI initiatives.

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Book Talk - Our Next Reality: How the AI-powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World

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Facing Reality: Canada Needs to Think about Extended Reality and AI

Although Canada is a leader in becoming the first nation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it is falling behind other countries in extended reality (XR) competitiveness. In this paper, the authors look at why Canada is lagging in this area and what can be done to bring the country up to speed with its peers.

Read Our Publications

The U.S.-led digital trade world order is under attack–by the U.S.

This year, America’s digital trade negotiator made a startling announcement at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The negotiator spoke at the behest of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Kathrine Tai. At the time, Congress and various U.S. regulatory agencies were considering new regulations for large tech companies, which meant that the U.S. would no longer support language at the WTO related to cross-border data flows. In the words of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. now needs “policy space” to regulate the tech giants.

Read Our Publications

Comparing AI Regulatory Models: A Discussion With Professor Anu Bradford

Wednesday, August 9, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

Learn More

Data Governance In The Age of Generative AI

Thursday, Dec 7- 10:30 AM EST

Learn More

Global Data Governance Mapping Year Three Report

68 Countries plus the European Union, 5 continents, and 7 regions

Building Trust in AI: A Landscape Analysis of Government AI Programs

As countries around the world expand their use of artificial intelligence (AI), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed the most comprehensive website on AI policy, the OECD.AI Policy Observatory. Although the website covers public policies on AI, the author of this paper found that many governments failed to evaluate or report on their AI initiatives.

Read Our Publications

Data Governance in the Age of Generative AI

Data Governance in the Age of Generative AI

From December 7, 2023 to December 8, 2023

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LATEST EVENTS

NIST and Efforts to Build Public Trust in AI

Congressman Don Beyer Chats with Computer Scientist Hal Daumé III

May 12, 2023

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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Publish and Perish, or Be Revived Through a Media Bargaining Code?

Generative AI 101

May 5, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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The State of AI in China

March 10, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

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What do we do

The Digital Trade & Data Governance Hub provide resources, training, events, and evidence-based research to help stakeholders understand data governance and digital trade.

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Evidence based Research

Training

seminars

Recent Publications

Facing Reality: Canada Needs to Think about Extended Reality and AI

by saaronso | March 2, 2024 | AI, Publications, XR | 0 Comments

Although Canada is a leader in becoming the first nation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it is falling behind other countries in extended reality (XR) competitiveness. In this paper, the authors look at why Canada is lagging in this area and what can be done to bring the country up to speed with its peers. The authors argue that more attention and funding should be directed toward the development of XR technology in Canada because XR is already a major contributor to the Canadian and global economy; XR and AI will shape future iterations of the internet; a variant of XR (digital twins, which serve as models of people or objects) can serve as tools to develop mitigating strategies for various types of complex problems; and other nations, such as China and South Korea, are investing heavily in XR technology to gain a competitive edge.

The U.S.-led digital trade world order is under attack–by the U.S.

by saaronso | December 13, 2023 | Digital Trade, Publications | 0 Comments

At the behest of the U.S., representatives of 100 nations will gather online on Thursday and Friday to examine how they can sustain democracy. The Summit for Democracy has a packed agenda but ignores a major threat: Firms in the U.S. and elsewhere use large troves of personal data to manipulate our behavior, which is directly and indirectly endangering our autonomy, human rights, and democracy. This threat to democracy was and continues to be made in America, and America’s allies know it.

XR ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES NEW WHITE PAPER WITH DIGITAL TRADE AND GOVERNANCE HUB AT GWU EXPLORING US COMPETITIVENESS IN IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY

by saaronso | November 8, 2023 | Publications, XR | 0 Comments

At the behest of the U.S., representatives of 100 nations will gather online on Thursday and Friday to examine how they can sustain democracy. The Summit for Democracy has a packed agenda but ignores a major threat: Firms in the U.S. and elsewhere use large troves of personal data to manipulate our behavior, which is directly and indirectly endangering our autonomy, human rights, and democracy. This threat to democracy was and continues to be made in America, and America’s allies know it.

How to Regulate AI? Start With the Data

by saaronso | June 15, 2023 | AI, Data Governance, Publications | 0 Comments

At the behest of the U.S., representatives of 100 nations will gather online on Thursday and Friday to examine how they can sustain democracy. The Summit for Democracy has a packed agenda but ignores a major threat: Firms in the U.S. and elsewhere use large troves of personal data to manipulate our behavior, which is directly and indirectly endangering our autonomy, human rights, and democracy. This threat to democracy was and continues to be made in America, and America’s allies know it.

Could a Global “Wicked Problems Agency” Incentivize Data Sharing?

by saaronso | March 27, 2023 | Data Governance, Digital Trade, Publications | 0 Comments

Global data sharing could help solve “wicked” problems (problems such as climate change, terrorism and global poverty that no one knows how to solve without creating further problems). There is no one or best way to address wicked problems because they have many different causes and manifest in different contexts. By mixing vast troves of data, policy makers and researchers may find new insights and strategies to address these complex problems.

How should we think about data?

We have little information about what data firms collect, how these firms use or sell our data, or how they mix various data types. If we want these markets to operate more equitably and efficiently, policymakers must focus on the governance of data.

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Personal Data

e.g. birthdates

Proprietary or Confidential Business Data

e.g. payrolls

Public Data

Data in the public domain, census data, scientific data, etc

Metadata

Supposedly anonymized personal data

Machine to Machine Communication

Satellite Data

Wondering who we are?

We are a team with a diverse background in international trade, international affairs, economics, public policy, and communication.

Susan Aaronson

Founder & Director

Thomas Struett

Associate Director

Adam Zable

Director of Emerging Technology