CAIS Mission CAIS unites researchers at 91亚色 who are collectively advancing the state of the art in the theory and practice of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, governance and public policy. Our systems approach places emphasis on how AI technologies operate when embedded in real-world contexts, interacting with humans and other technologies. Our research focuses on AI systems that address societal priorities in health care, smart cities and sustainability, and are fair, explainable, reliable and trusted.
CAIS Membership There are three categories of CAIS membership: Faculty Members. These are research-stream faculty at any campus of 91亚色 who are actively engaged in AIrelated research. Faculty Members are required to contribute to CAIS activities, including committees and events, and to complete annual reports. Associate Faculty Members. These are research- or teaching-stream faculty at any campus of 91亚色 who are interested in AI-related research and would like to stay abreast of CAIS developments and participate in some CAIS events. Trainee Members. These are graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are actively engaged in AI-related research. While they will typically be supervised by a CAIS member, this is not a requirement of membership. Members apply with an online form. Applicants are admitted if they meet the criteria above. This is decided by the Co- Directors for Associate Faculty and Trainee Member applicants, and by the CAIS Executive for Faculty Member applicants. A General Meeting to which all CAIS members are invited is held annually.
CAIS Directorate CAIS has a Co-Director model with the expectation that one Co-Director has primary expertise in technical aspects of AI whereas the other Co-Director has primary expertise in societal aspects of AI. Decisions are made jointly.
CAIS Executive The CAIS Executive consists of the two CAIS Co-Directors plus additional CAIS Faculty Members, and is chaired by one of the two Co-Directors. CAIS Executive Members are appointed by the CAIS Directorate for three year renewable terms. Generally, the Executive will include Chairs of CAIS Committees but may include other CAIS Faculty Members to ensure diverse representation from all CAIS Faculties. The CAIS Executive meets monthly.
CAIS Board The CAIS Board is chaired by the Vice President, Research & Innovation or their representative and includes representatives of the Deans of each of the seven faculties participating in CAIS (The Lassonde School of Engineering, Osgoode Hall Law School, The Faculty of Health, The Faculty of Science, The Schulich School of Business, The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, The School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design). The Board meets biannually and on an ad hoc basis as necessary.
CAIS Advisory Board The CAIS Advisory Board consists of prominent members of the community external to 91亚色 who have expertise beneficial to CAIS. The Advisory Board will typically meet twice annually and also on an ad hoc basis as needed . Appointment to the Advisory Board is decided by the Directorate, in consultation with the Executive . Appointments are for three years and may be renewed.
CAIS Overheads Some grants and contracts bear overhead for indirect costs. As an institutional ORU, VPRI will forward 75% of the overhead generated by a CAIS grant or contract to CAIS, retaining 25% to support general VPRI initiatives. CAIS policy is to forward 25% of the overhead it receives from VPRI to the internal account of the Principal Investigator (PI) of the grant or contract bearing overhead, to be used to support their own research program, retaining 75% of the overhead to support the operation of CAIS. Thus, the PI will receive 18.75% of the overhead generated by the grant or contract. To indicate that a grant or contract is to be directed through CAIS, the PI should indicate this at the bottom of Page 2 of the ORS Checklist they submit when applying for the grant or contract.
