- CAIS Mission
CAIS unites researchers at York who are collectively advancing the state of the art in the theory and practice of artificial
intelligence (AI) systems, governance and public policy. Our systems approach places emphasis on how AI technologies
operate when embedded in real-world contexts, interacting with humans and other technologies. Our research focuses on
AI systems that address societal priorities in health care, smart cities and sustainability, and are fair, explainable, reliable and
trusted. - CAIS Membership
There are three categories of CAIS membership:
Faculty Members. These are research-stream faculty at any campus of York University who are actively engaged in AIrelated
research. Faculty Members are required to contribute to CAIS activities, including committees and events, and to
complete annual reports.
Associate Faculty Members. These are research- or teaching-stream faculty at any campus of York University who are
interested in AI-related research and would like to stay abreast of CAIS developments and participate in some CAIS
events.
Trainee Members. These are graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are actively engaged in AI-related
research. While they will typically be supervised by a CAIS member, this is not a requirement of membership.
Members apply with an online form. Applicants are admitted if they meet the criteria above. This is decided by the Co-
Directors for Associate Faculty and Trainee Member applicants, and by the CAIS Executive for Faculty Member applicants.
A General Meeting to which all CAIS members are invited is held annually. - CAIS Directorate
CAIS has a Co-Director model with the expectation that one Co-Director has primary expertise in technical aspects of AI
whereas the other Co-Director has primary expertise in societal aspects of AI. Decisions are made jointly. - CAIS Executive
The CAIS Executive consists of the two CAIS Co-Directors plus additional CAIS Faculty Members, and is chaired by one of
the two Co-Directors. CAIS Executive Members are appointed by the CAIS Directorate for three year renewable terms.
Generally, the Executive will include Chairs of CAIS Committees but may include other CAIS Faculty Members to ensure
diverse representation from all CAIS Faculties. The CAIS Executive meets monthly. - CAIS Board
The CAIS Board is chaired by the Vice President, Research & Innovation or their representative and includes representatives
of the Deans of each of the seven faculties participating in CAIS (The Lassonde School of Engineering, Osgoode Hall Law
School, The Faculty of Health, The Faculty of Science, The Schulich School of Business, The Faculty of Liberal Arts &
Professional Studies, The School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design). The Board meets biannually and on an ad
hoc basis as necessary. - CAIS Advisory Board
The CAIS Advisory Board consists of prominent members of the community external to York University who have expertise
beneficial to CAIS. The Advisory Board will typically meet twice annually and also on an ad hoc basis as needed .
Appointment to the Advisory Board is decided by the Directorate, in consultation with the Executive . Appointments are for
three years and may be renewed. - CAIS Overheads
Some grants and contracts bear overhead for indirect costs. As an institutional ORU, VPRI will forward 75% of the overhead
generated by a CAIS grant or contract to CAIS, retaining 25% to support general VPRI initiatives. CAIS policy is to forward
25% of the overhead it receives from VPRI to the internal account of the Principal Investigator (PI) of the grant or contract
bearing overhead, to be used to support their own research program, retaining 75% of the overhead to support the
operation of CAIS. Thus, the PI will receive 18.75% of the overhead generated by the grant or contract.
To indicate that a grant or contract is to be directed through CAIS, the PI should indicate this at the bottom of Page 2 of the
ORS Checklist they submit when applying for the grant or contract.