The AI Collective Ottawa | AI & Ethics: Promises & Perils
Join us for an evening of bold conversations and critical debate. Leading voices from academia, entrepreneurship, and policy will unpack the promises and perils of AI. Together, we’ll tackle tough questions around trust, bias, fairness, and the future of human decision-making in an algorithm-driven world.
Expect fresh ideas, honest debate, and plenty of sparks as we explore how AI is changing the way we think, work, and make decisions — and what that means for all of us.
Agenda
Speaker Details Follow
6:00 – 6:15 PM | Welcome & Opening Remarks
The AI Collective Ottawa, Chris Doré & Sarah Gencarelli
Framing the evening and highlighting why ethics and human values must remain central in the age of AI.
6:15 – 6:35 PM | Keynote: The Ethical Challenges of AI
Tina Crouse
A 20-minute address exploring the ethical challenges of AI, the shifting balance between technology and human values, and the urgent questions we must confront as a society.
6:35 – 7:25 PM | Fireside Chat: Human Values in a Machine World
Heidi Hauver, Heather Cayouette, and Mohamed Sharaf Moderated by Stephen Gagne
An engaging conversation between leading voices from academia, industry, and policy. This dialogue will unpack both the opportunities and dilemmas of AI, blending real-world cases with ethical reflection.
7:25 – 7:40 PM | Break
An opportunity for informal networking and reflection before the panel discussion.
7:40 – 8:25 PM | Panel Discussion + Audience Q&A
Experts dive deeper into themes of governance, bias, trust, and innovation. The final portion opens for audience questions, ensuring an interactive dialogue.
8:25 – 9:00 PM | Networking & Reflections
An extended opportunity for attendees to connect directly with speakers and peers, share insights, and build meaningful relationships.
About the Speakers
Our speakers bring together diverse perspectives from technology, ethics, leadership, and human-centred design. From the boardroom to the classroom, they’ve helped shape how organizations adapt, scale, and lead responsibly in the age of AI. Together, they’ll explore how we can harness innovation without losing sight of what matters most: people.
Tina Crouse
Tina Crouse helps organizations move from “AI-curious” to “AI-confident.” With a background in communications and nonprofit leadership, she focuses on making artificial intelligence accessible, ethical, and inclusive—especially for under-represented groups. Tina brings a grounded, human-first approach to technology and a passion for lifelong learning.
Heidi Hauver
Heidi Hauver is a People & Culture strategist who helps founders scale by aligning people, performance, and purpose. With 20+ years of leadership experience—including scaling one company from 75 to 500+ employees across 30 countries—she’s a trusted advisor to CEOs and HR leaders alike. A Businesswoman of the Year and Forty Under 40 recipient, Heidi champions inclusive, high-performance workplaces that drive growth.
Heather Cayouette
Heather Cayouette helps leaders cut through complexity and build smarter, more resilient organizations. As a Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP/C, CIPT) and fractional COO with nearly 20 years of experience, she helps teams untangle legacy systems, align strategy with execution, and design future-ready operations rooted in trust, clarity, and purpose.
Mohamed Sharaf
Mohamed Sharaf, CEO of Revolution Data Platforms, brings 25+ years of experience turning data headaches into business breakthroughs. After 18 years at Microsoft, he now leads teams delivering secure, scalable analytics and AI solutions—with equal parts technical excellence and humor.
Stephen Gagné (Moderator)
Stephen Gagné is an educator and entrepreneurship specialist at Algonquin College, combining 15+ years of teaching experience with a passion for innovation and ethical leadership. He brings curiosity, clarity, and connection to every discussion he moderates.
Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!
The AI Collective is a global non-profit community uniting 100,000+ pioneers – founders, researchers, operators, and investors – exploring the frontier of AI in major tech hubs worldwide. Through events, workshops, and community-led research, we empower the AI ecosystem to collaboratively steer AI’s future toward trust, openness, and human flourishing.
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