Smarter Privacy: A Service Design Approach to Public Engagement for AI Literacy 

We created a design kit to support AI Literacy strategy innovation.

Through funding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Contributions Program, we explored AI literacy experience and needs in Canadians.  

The results of a national survey and interviews were used to develop personas in a design kit to support the development of new ways to  to improve AI literacy in Canada.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly part of the smartphones, tablets, and other devices Canadians use every day. It shapes choices that affect their privacy and their rights. But public understanding has not kept up. A better understanding of AI can help people make good choices and have a say in how AI fits into their lives. AI literacy programs exist, but they often come in the form of courses. That leaves out people who do not have the time, money, access, or motivation to take part. We started this project to understand Canadians' views, experiences, and learning priorities about AI. The goal is to give organizations the tools to create more accessible ways to help Canadians improve their AI literacy.

This project uses a design approach that starts with people. It works with the public to find better ways to reach more of them. We surveyed 1,125 Canadians across the country and interviewed some of them. Three patterns stood out.

1.     Three-quarters of Canadians use AI, but many are still trying to make sense of what it means in their lives.

2.     Most Canadians have only a fair grasp of AI, and few look for training. Those who use AI are most often self-taught.

3.     Canadians want to learn how to protect themselves: their privacy, spotting false information, and staying in control of their own data.

Using these findings, we created the Smarter Privacy Design Kit. It turns the research into ready-to-use profiles that help organizations understand the AI literacy needs of Canadians. Nonprofits, teachers, and community groups can use it to build AI literacy that fits how Canadians really think and act.

This project was lead by the designcommons, an applied research and design lab at the Centre for Addiction, and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada.   The principle investigator is Nelson Shen, PhD.   He is a scientist at CAMH and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.

We thank the project team and collaborators for thier support througout this project:  

• CAMH :Tristan Glatard, Laura Sikstrom, Marta Maslej, Clement Ma, Masooma Hassan

• Ontario Ministry of Health: Christine Sham, Madison Bettle

• Center for Effective Practice: Anne Dabrowski

• Canadian Standards Association: Kay Penn, Michael Wilson

For more infomation, please contact us at designcommons@camh.ca

This work was financially supported by the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada’s (OPC) Contributions Program. The OPC is an Agent of the Canadian Parliament that oversees compliance with Canadian privacy legislation, specifically the Privacy Act and PIPEDA (a federal commercial privacy law).