Does AI have a Place in Rural Governance? Navigating the co-creation of responsive digital technology solutions in rural Canada and Scotland?

This Knowledge Synthesis Grant project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council

Governments across jurisdictions continue to struggle to develop and implement robust, flexible, and effective rural policies that are capable of meeting the ever-changing realities and contexts of rural life. Similarly, they are also faced with responding to the impacts of rapidly developing new technologies, with artificial intelligence (AI) currently attracting significant attention.

This project was a collaboration between Brandon University (Canada) and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC – Scotland). It reviewed existing academic literature as well as sources like government policies and reports, and industry commentary targeting AI governance in Canada and Scotland (and the United Kingdom, more broadly) to explore whether, and how, rural places are approached by this fast-moving area of policy concern.

RDI & SRUC Canada Scotland Rural AI Project Overview

RDI & SRUC Rural AI Evidence Brief

RDI & SRUC Knowledge Synthesis Grant Report