February 27, 2026 – CanAfro Research Institute, called for a fundamental shift in how Canada approaches Artificial Intelligence governance at Mila Black History Month Panel in Montreal. Representing the Institute and the findings of the Being Black in AI report, Dr. Desta argued that current national priorities are over-invested on economic scaling and corporate profit from AI, often at the expense of the vital social dimensions—such as culture, human rights, and community well-being—that impact those living outside the lab.
During the discussion, Dr. Desta emphasized that sustainable change requires a move away from purely reactive protest toward a high-impact, collaborative model. He asserted that energy and funding must be focused on supporting community groups to produce tangible, evidence-based works—much like the Black in AI Report ( https://carleton.ca/africanstudies/2026/being-black-in-ai-evidence-trends-and-policy-futures-at-the-intersection-of-artificial-intelligence-and-african-caribbean-and-black-communities-in-canada/ ) report—rather than solely spending time protesting the system from the outside. “Change actually comes from a shift toward Afrocentric governance,” Desta noted, “which means legislating binding representation, securing dedicated innovation funding, and establishing data sovereignty frameworks like OCAP® to ensure communities have authority over the data that represents them.”
Dr. Desta stressed that this progress depends on a deep collaboration between the “top” and the “bottom,” where policymakers and funders provide the resources necessary for community organizations to lead their own research and infrastructure projects. Highlighting the practical evolution of these issues, he pointed to the changing landscape of labor, predicting that traditional labor unions will soon transform into AI-focused movements dedicated to protecting workers’ rights in an automated age. The CanAfro Research Institute continues to advocate for this proactive path, ensuring that as AI scales, it does so through an equitable framework that prioritizes community-led solutions and measurable outcomes.
The 2026 Mila Black History Month Celebration was hosted by Mila, the world-renowned Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, at its headquarters in the Mile-Ex neighborhood of Montreal (6650 Rue Saint-Urbain).