Why Critical AI Literacy Matters: implications for policy and practice

Why Critical AI Literacy Matters: implications for policy and practice in UK and Canada

This is a public talk and research panel that explores the emerging role of critical AI literacy and the implications for digital divides. It convenes digital advocacy organizations, public bodies and researchers from UK and Canada.

As AI tools increasingly permeate everyday life, it presupposes that people will have the knowledge and skills to use them. But research has shown that it is essential for people to critically understand, question, and ethically use AI technologies. This suggests that the AI literacy needs to expand to include informed decision-making, critical engagement, and resistance to technological coercion as well as considerations of digital equity.

Date: Monday 10th November 2025

Time: 15.00-16.00 GMT / 10.00-11.00 EDT (eastern Canada)/ 8.00-9.00 UTC/GMT -6 (western Canada)

The Panel

This panel convenes some leading organizations and advocates to discuss the role of critical AI literacy in both UK and Canada. The aim is to enable knowledge transfer with the stakeholders who can address the implications of this and implement changes at a policy level in UK and Canada – through new practices in cities through NGOs and activists who work with AI policy change.

Some questions we seek to address:

• Can we consider AI literacy in terms of how it acknowledges resistance, refusal, and opting out as legitimate responses to AI systems?
• How can we extend beyond merely measuring knowledge or competencies to include critical engagement and informed decision-making, highlighting social inequalities and power structures?
• How do we ensure that marginalised groups are able to gain critical AI literacy skills and what is the role for public libraries?

Panel guests:

Tim Davies, Connected by Data, UK

Connected by Data campaign to put community at the centre of data narratives, practices and policies by advocating for collective and open data governance

Dr. Kara Brisson-Boivin , Mediasmarts, Canada

MediaSmarts has been developing digital media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996.

Tania Duarte, WE and AI, UK

We and AI are a non-profit organisation working to encourage, enable, and empower critical thinking about AI.

+ one other guest (TBC)

Panel Chairs:

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University Canada

Professor Katharine Willis, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, University of Plymouth, UK

Organizers:

Western University, Canada, and University of Plymouth, UK

The panel is part of the SSHRC/ESRC Synthesising research on envisioning governance systems that work funded project, titled: New digital divides in the Algorithmic city, 2025-2026. This is a collaboration between Western University, Canada and University of Plymouth, UK. This project is a knowledge mobilization grant that aims to not only to identify AI literacy interventions that are effective and targeted to specific social groups, but also to highlight gaps in terms of marginalized populations.

Header Image credit: Better Images of AI : Anne Fehres and Luke Conroy & AI4Media / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/