How can we ensure that the next generation helps shape the future of AI?

Gen(Z)AI is a national initiative that brings together 100 young Canadians aged 17 to 23 in four forums across Canada to explore one of the most important questions of our time:

How can we ensure that the next generation helps shape the future of AI?

We will go beyond the forum by giving young people across Canada the opportunity to participate online. This online participation is designed to complement and support the work of the forum, ensuring that all young people can have their voices heard.

Over six months, participants will meet in youth forums across the country in four different cities to discuss the social, ethical, and policy impacts of AI. Their ideas and recommendations will help inform Canada’s national AI strategy. This will ensure that young people’s voices are not an afterthought, but a guide for the future.

AI is changing how we learn, work, and connect. But decisions about its use and regulation are often made without the perspectives of those who will live with its long-term consequences. Gen(Z)AI is changing that. It gives young people the space, tools, and support to imagine what a fair, safe, and inclusive AI future should look like.

The process combines democratic innovation with expert insight.

• Youth forums: Four groups of young Canadians will deliberate and draft recommendations on key AI issues over the course of six months (from November 2025 to April 2026) in four different cities (Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Halifax)
• Public participation: After each forum the draft ideas will then be shared on Make.org’s platform, where young people across the country as well as AI experts can react, vote, and contribute feedback.
• Analysis: Make.org’s sociologists and data scientists will analyze all contributions, helping the forums strengthen and prioritize their proposals.

By the project’s final plenary in April 2026 this process will ensure greater legitimacy and stronger ownership of the final recommendations.

Gen(Z)AI is a partnership between the Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy, Mila - Quebec AI Institute, and the Dialogue on Technology Project. It is generously funded by The Walton’s Trust, Mila, and CIFAR.

Together, these organizations are pioneering a new model of civic participation, which connects democratic dialogue and AI innovation.

Your ideas can shape the future of AI in Canada. Join the conversation, share your perspective, and help build a smarter, fairer digital future for everyone.

As a European civic tech company, Make.org works at the intersection of democracy and technology. We develop technological solutions to strengthen democratic processes and are leaders in understanding the risks and challenges associated with these advances.