Empowering Young Canadians in the Smart Device Era

A Privacy-by-Design Research and Public Engagement Initiative

This project is proudly funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's (OPC) Contributions Program .

More Info

About

The overarching goal of this project is to empower youth (ages 16-24) with the knowledge and tools needed to safeguard their personal data in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, particularly in voice-activated AI apps. By emphasizing privacy-by-design principles and public engagement, we seek to foster an environment where responsible, privacy-centric AI practices become the norm. To achieve this goal, we have established the following research questions:

Research Questions

  • 🐾Youth concerns around data collection and usage in voice-activated AI (e.g., Siri, Alexa).
  • 🐾Influence of privacy risk, benefit perception, and transparency on trust and adoption.
  • 🐾Current privacy controls used by youth and their impact on self-efficacy and protective behavior.
  • 🐾Youth-suggested solutions (technical, policy, educational) to address privacy gaps and improve user control.
Project

Project

As part of our research on youth interactions with voice-enabled technologies, we're conducting a national survey, online focus groups, and a stakeholder roundtable. These research activities are designed to gather insights directly from young people and refine our recommendations through expert feedback from educators, developers, and policymakers.

Survey

If you're 16-24, click the survey icon above to share your views on voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Responses are confidential and used for privacy research.

Focus Group

We're hosting 1-hour online sessions to hear your thoughts on voice assistants and digital privacy. If you're 16-24, we'd love to hear from you. Click the link above to sign up and participate.

Round-Table

We will be looking for parents, educators, policymakers, and AI developers to help refince youth-centered recommendations on privacy. If you're interested in contributing, click the link above to express your interest.

Youth Engagement Activities

Engaging youth to shape the future of voice-enabled AI systems—ethically and inclusively.

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Live Session
Insight
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Digital Event
Awareness
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Let's Connect
Community
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Webinar Recap
Highlight 2024
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Seminar Recap
Highlight 2024
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Privacy Video
Knowledge

Press & Media

Public conversations inspired by our research.

Project Team

One line of code, one conversation, one safeguard at a time.

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Dr. Ajay Shrestha

Principal Investigator
Vancouver Island University

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Molly Campbell

Project Personnel
Vancouver Island University

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Yulia Bobkova

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

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Mohamad Jasem

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

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Trevor DeClark

Research Assistant
Vancouver Island University

Our team brings together researchers, designers, and youth collaborators committed to advancing ethical, privacy-conscious AI. With diverse expertise across technology, education, and policy, we work together to ensure that young people's voices are not only heard—but actively shape the future of voice-enabled systems.

Publication

Here are some of our latest publications from this project. Click on the links to read more.

Publication#X

Privacy-Aware AI Research

Published: TBA

Final Report

Publication#1

Authors:

Published on:

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contact Us

Contact Us

Interested in joining a focus group (for youth 16-24) or a stakeholder roundtable? Fill out the form below and we'll get back to you shortly.