SIS is pleased to announce MISt student David Medcalfe as a 2026 Mila-Building 21 BLUE Fellow in Partnership with Mila – Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute

SIS is pleased to announce MISt student David Medcalfe as a 2026 Mila-Building 21 BLUE Fellow

Congratulations to David Medcalfe, a Master of Information Studies (MISt) student at the School of Information Studies, who has been selected as a 2026 Mila-Building 21 BLUE Fellow through a program run in partnership with Mila – Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute, one of the world’s leading research institutes in artificial intelligence.

The Mila-Building 21 BLUE Fellowship supports interdisciplinary, applied projects with societal impact and brings together researchers and practitioners from across disciplines to explore the "Edge of AI," how artificial intelligence may shape human systems, institutions, and values over the long term. Fellows are selected for the originality, interdisciplinary relevance, and public-facing potential of their projects, as well as their capacity to contribute meaningfully to McGill’s broader innovation ecosystem.

Project Summary

David’s BLUE Fellowship project examines how governance, legal accountability, and cybersecurity must evolve as artificial intelligence-enabled systems become embedded within critical infrastructure. As intelligent systems increasingly assume decision-making autonomy across interconnected public-interest systems, existing legal and institutional frameworks face new challenges in maintaining responsibility, oversight, and societal trust. Read more

Drawing upon legal theory, cybersecurity research, and responsible artificial intelligence principles, the project explores how accountability and human agency can be preserved as infrastructure systems themselves begin to participate in decision-making. This work contributes to broader discussions on responsible artificial intelligence deployment in high-impact environments and highlights the importance of interdisciplinary governance in ensuring that technological innovation remains aligned with public values, with relevance for policymakers and institutional decision-makers navigating AI adoption.

Through the Building 21 and Mila partnership, David’s project will be further developed and publicly shared within McGill University’s applied artificial intelligence and innovation ecosystem.