Dr. Blair Attard-Frost (supplied image)
Dr. Blair Attard-Frost, a recent graduate of the Faculty of Information and assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Alberta, has been recognized with a 2026 CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award.
Presented annually by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS), the award recognizes doctoral dissertations that make significant and original contributions to their academic communities and Canadian society.
Attard-Frost’s dissertation, The Impacts and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: A Transfeminist Perspective, examines how artificial intelligence can be governed to maximize its benefits while minimizing harm to society, particularly for historically marginalized communities. Drawing on perspectives from information studies, feminist and trans studies, organizational theory, and public policy, Dr. Attard-Frost developed new frameworks for understanding AI governance and applied them to analyses of AI initiatives across Canada.
“I think it is important to stress the originality of the work done by Attard-Frost…The dissertation intervenes in and advances previous work investigating gaps in AI governance, the causes of these gaps as well as what can be done to strengthen oversight and expand civic participation to prevent harm,” said Dr. Joanna Redden, associate professor, Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University and a member of Attard-Frost’s PhD committee.
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