Workshop | Aug 24-27, 2026
Governing AI: Scale, Scope and Approach
Montreal
The workshop will look at the various legal instruments adopted, proposed or being developed to provide a framework for AI systems. These tools differ in their approach (by risk, by use, by sector), their subject matter (marketing, use of AI systems by public authorities, liability, etc.) and their scope (ranging from companies to international organisations), but they all share a common ambition: to govern AI. Like the 2024 European regulation on AI or a corporate AI charter, these instruments raise questions about the scales of AI governance, but also about the spaces they address. Faced with a multi-level governance of AI, the workshop will aim to study the sources and authors of these initiatives, their normative forces and their individual or combined effects.
Over a period of 4 days, the workshop will provide an opportunity, through multidisciplinary days organised around academic presentations, round tables and plenary discussions, to identify the main trends in this multi-level governance of AI, to highlight the instruments on which it is based and to question its driving forces and limits. With this in mind, the first part of the workshop will be devoted to different levels of governance, while the second part will be devoted to a cross-analysis of the combined effects of this legal tangle.
This activity is part of the Thematic Semester « The Governance of AI », organized under the partnership between IVADO and the AI center for Science and Science for AI (AISSAI-CNRS).
Members of the committee responsible for this workshop
Speakers confirmed
Agnès Robin (Université de Montpellier), Florence G'Sell (Stanford University), Maroussia Lévesque (Harvard Law School), Hye-Sun (Melissa) Yoon (Hanyang University), Jason Grant Allen (Singapore Management University), Samir Merabet (Université Lyon 3), Gaelle Foucault (Université de Montréal), Catherine Régis (Université de Montréal), Nicolas Papernot (University of Toronto / Vector Institute), Adekemi Omotubora (University of Lagos), Peggy Valcke (KU Leuven), Nicolas Vermeys, Université de Montréal, Gianclaudio Malgieri (Leiden University; Brussels Privacy Hub), Filomena Chirico (Union européenne), Hugo Larochelle (Université de Montréal / Mila), Angela Zhang (University of South California), Mélanie Clément Fontaine (Université Paris-Saclay - UVSQ), Han Wei (Singapore Management University), Samson Esayas (University of Oslo).
Note : Presentation titles with an asterisk * are provisional suggestions, to be confirmed.
MONDAY 24 August 2026
Understanding the Geopolitics of AI Governance
The first day of the workshop introduces AI governance through a geopolitical lens. The keynote speaker will provide an overview of the intricacies of AI geopolitics, while the afternoon session will offer a deeper dive into Chinese AI policy and the rising calls for an alliance between AI "middle powers" sharing the same policy objectives.
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM: Welcome and Registration
9:50 AM - 10:00 AM: Program of the day
Pierre Larouche & Margo Bernelin, Organizers of the Workshop
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Welcome Address
Véronique Guèvremont (Université Laval, IVADO)
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Keynote - The Geopolitics of AI Governance: An Overview
Florence G'Sell (Stanford University)
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Discussion
Samir Merabet (Université Jean-Moulin Lyon 3) & Gaëlle Foucault (Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal)
12:00 PM - 1:45 PM: Lunch (not provided)
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM: The Rise of the Platform State: China's Governance Strategy for AI Supremacy
Angela Zhang (University of South California, USC Gould School of Law)
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM: Towards a "Non-Aligned Movement" for AI Governance? *
Jason Grant Allen, Associate Professor, Singapore Management University (SMU) Yong Pung How School of Law, Director of the SMU Centre for Digital Law, and an Urban Fellow at the SMU Urban Institute; Han Wei, Associate Professor, SMU Yong Pung School of Law, Deputy Director of the Centre for Digital Law.
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM: Roundtable and discussion with the speakers of the day
Moderation: Pierre Larouche
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Social Hour / Mixer
TUESDAY 25 August 2026
Approaches and Frameworks for AI Governance
The second day focuses on the instruments that concern AI governance as such, and explores the various approaches used to structure the legal and regulatory framework.
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM: Welcoming of participants
9:50 AM - 10:00 AM: Program for the day
Pierre Larouche & Margo Bernelin, Organizers of the Workshop
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM: Approaches to AI Governance: A Critical Overview
Janet Vertesi, Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Director, Keller Center, Princeton University
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: The EU AI Act: Which Risk-Based Approach?
Samson Esayas (University of Oslo)
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM: Lunch (not provided)
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM: Korea's AI Basic Act - Ethics as a Bridge Between Innovation and Precaution
Hye-Sun (Melissa) Yoon, Professor, School of Law and Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Corporate Soul or Corporate Ghouls: The Role of Corporate Structure in AI Governance
Maroussia Lévesque, Assistant Professor, Queen's University; member of the Indigenous-led Abundant Intelligences project; Senior Fellow, Center for International Governance Innovation
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Coffee break
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM: Keynote - Canada's Vision for AI Governance: The “AI for All” Strategy*
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM: Roundtable and discussion with the speakers of the day
Moderation: Margo Bernelin
WEDNESDAY 26 August 2026
Governing AI through Other Legal Domains
The legal and policy instruments surveyed on Day 2 do not provide a complete picture of AI governance. Ancillary legal domains can influence AI governance, sometimes to a larger extent than AI-specific instruments.
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM: Welcoming of participants
9:50 AM - 10:00 AM: Program for the day
Pierre Larouche & Margo Bernelin, Organizers of the Workshop
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM: The Protection of Privacy and Personal Data in the Age of AI
Kemi (Adekemi) Omotubora, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: Civil Liability as a Tool for AI Governance
Nicolas Vermeys, Law Professor, Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM: Lunch (not provided)
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM: Can intellectual property survive AI?
Agnès Robin, Associate Professor and Director, Laboratory for Innovation, Communication, and Markets (LICeM), University of Montpellier
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM: Is “open source” the key to effective AI governance?
Mélanie Clément-Fontaine, Law Professor, Université Paris-Saclay et Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM: Coffee break
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM: Using Public Procurement to Provide an Impulse to AI Governance
Juan David Gutierrez, Associate Professor, School of Government, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia
3:45 PM - 4:30 PM: How Competition Law and the Digital Markets Act Are Shaping the Path of AI Development
Alexandre de Streel, Professor of EU Law, Université de Namur, Collège d'Europe et Sciences-Po Paris
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM: Roundtable and discussion with the speakers of the day
Moderation: Pierre Larouche
THURSDAY 27 August 2026
Scaling AI Governance
Day 4 leaves the realm of State-centred law to venture at the higher (international efforts) and lower (firm-driven measures) levels of AI governance. It begins with a keynote offering a broader outlook on what is at stake, and ends with a session summarizing the discussions of the entire workshop.
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM: Welcoming of participants
9:50 AM - 10:00 AM: Program for the day
Pierre Larouche & Margo Bernelin, Organizers of the Workshop
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM: Keynote - What Does It Mean to Trust ML?
Nicolas Papernot, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, and member, Vector Institute
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: International Initiatives on AI Governance
Catherine Régis, Professor, Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal and Director of Social Innovation and International Policies (IVADO)
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM: Lunch (not provided)
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM: Getting Corporate AI Policies Right in Startups
Dominique Payette, Director, Legal - Privacy and Health Regulatory, Dialogue
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM: Corporate Governance and AI*
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Coffee break
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Roundtable and discussion with the speakers of the day
Moderation: Margo Bernelin
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Conclusion Panel
with Hugo Larochelle, Scientific director, Mila; Pierre Larouche; and Margo Bernelin
