Ishtiaque Ahmed

Professor Ishtiaque Ahmed is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Third Space Research Group at the DGP Lab. His research focuses on Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, with a particular emphasis on building responsible AI technologies that incorporate the voices, values, and lived experiences of underprivileged and marginalized communities. Professor Ahmed’s work critically examines the ethical foundations of AI systems and explores community-based participatory approaches to AI development. His research challenges dominant, data-centric paradigms by foregrounding issues of power, bias, inequality, and social justice in the design and deployment of computing technologies. His work is widely published in leading venues such as CHI, CSCW, FAccT, ICTD, DIS, and COMPASS, and he is frequently invited to deliver keynote talks on ethics, AI, and society. Beyond research, Professor Ahmed plays an active leadership role in advancing ethical computing at institutional and community levels. He co-organizes the UofT Critical Computing Seminar, co-directs the PRISM program supporting students from marginalized communities in computer science, serves on the university’s Ethics Review Board, and teaches courses such as Computers and Society and Ethical Aspects of AI. His work has been recognized with numerous international fellowships and awards from organizations including Microsoft, Google, Meta, Fulbright, and Canada’s federal research councils.