Portrait of Catherine Régis

Catherine Régis

Associate Academic Member
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Full Professor, Université de Montréal
Research Topics
Deep Learning
Online Learning

Biography

Catherine Régis is Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of Université de Montréal (UdeM), Co-director of the Canadian AI Safety Institute research program and Director of Social Innovation and International Policy at IVADO. In addition to holding a Canada CIFAR Chair in AI and Human Rights and a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, she is a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum of the University of Cambridge. From 2021 to 2023, she was UdeM’s Associate VP for Strategic Planning and Responsible Digital Innovation.

Prof Régis is very active on the international scene. In 2022, she was appointed Cochair of the Working Group on Responsible AI of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), which comprises 29 member states (including Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan and the USA) for a period of two years. From 2020 to 2024, she led the Working Group on Responsible Digital Innovation and AI of the U7+ Alliance, which includes more than 50 universities from around the world. In 2022, she was a selected Fellow for the UN’s Institute for Training and Research’s program (UNITAR) in Science Diplomacy and, in 2024, she became part of the Technical Committee for UNESCO’s AI and the Rule of Law Program.

Prof Régis is used to executing consulting or training assignments both in Canada and elsewhere. She has been a visiting professor in different countries, and she has presented her work at institutions such as the OECD, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, the Alan Turing Institute, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Aspen Ministers Forum; in more than 20 universities worldwide (e.g., Cambridge, Costa Rica, Edinburgh, Georgetown, Osaka, Oxford, Sciences Po Paris, Sorbonne, Toronto); and in high-level conferences, including the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in 2023 and NeurIPS. She is involved in the development of Science Diplomacy (which aims at building leadership and communication skills to bridge science and diplomacy in policymaking) at the national and international levels. She also guides governments, public organizations and international organizations (e.g., academic health centres, ombudspeople and ministries of health or innovation, UNESCO, WHO, UN) on policy orientation and responsible AI projects. 

Most of her work explores how to best regulate AI at the national and international levels and to build responsible AI governance approaches more broadly. Her main objectives are: 1) to ensure human rights considerations are integrated throughout the AI life cycle; 2) to help policymakers map out and implement normative strategies that will contribute to the equitable distribution of AI benefits across nations; and 3) to inform the creation of the regulatory and governance tools needed for the responsible design and deployment of AI in key systems like healthcare and justice.

Current Students

Collaborating Alumni - Université de Montréal
PhD - Université de Montréal

Publications

Accompanying patients in clinical oncology teams: Reported activities and perceived effects
Marie-Pascale Pomey
Jesseca Paquette
Monica Iliescu‐Nelea
Cécile Vialaron
Rim Mourad
Karine Bouchard
Louise Normandin
Marie‐Andrée Côté
Mado Desforges
Pénélope Pomey‐Carpentier
Israël Fortin
Isabelle Ganache
Zeev Rosberger
Danielle Charpentier
Lynda Bélanger
Michel Dorval
Djahanchah Philip Ghadiri
Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay
Antoine Boivin … (see 4 more)
Jean-François Pelletier
Nicolas Fernandez
Alain M. Danino
Michèle de Guise
Since 2018, four establishments in Quebec, Canada, have decided to implement the PAROLE‐Onco programme, which introduced accompanying pati… (see more)ents (APs) in healthcare teams to improve the experience of cancer patients. APs are patient advisors who have had a cancer treatment experience and who conduct consultations to complement the service offered by providing emotional, informational and educational support to patients undergoing treatments (e.g., radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery), mostly for breast cancer. We aimed to explore the evolution of APs' perspectives regarding their activities within the clinical oncology teams as well as the perceived effects of their intervention with patients, the clinical team and themselves.
Assessing the Quality of Direct-to-Consumer Teleconsultation Services in Canada
Jean Noel Nikiema
Eleah Stringer
Marie-Pierre Moreault
Priscille Pana
Marco Laverdiere
Jean-Louis Denis
Béatrice Godard
Mylaine Breton
Guy Paré
Aviv Shachak
Claudia Lai
Elizabeth M. Borycki
Andre W. Kushniruk
Aude Motulsky
Public Perspectives on Exposure Notification Apps: A Patient and Citizen Co-Designed Study
Esli Osmanlliu
Jesseca Paquette
Maria Alejandra Rodriguez Duarte
Sylvain Bédard
Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin
Majlinda Zhegu
Marie-Eve Bouthillier
Annie-Danielle Grenier
Paul Lewis
Marie-Pascale Pomey
Canada deployed a digital exposure notification app (COVID Alert) as a strategy to support manual contact tracing. Our aims are to (1) asses… (see more)s the use, knowledge, and concerns of the COVID Alert app, (2) identify predictors of app downloads, and (3) develop strategies to promote social acceptability. A 36-item questionnaire was co-designed by 12 citizens and patients partnered with 16 academic researchers and was distributed in the province of Québec, Canada, from May 27 to 28 June 2021. Of 959 respondents, 43% had downloaded the app. Messaging from government sources constituted the largest influence on app download. Infrequent social contacts and perceived app inefficacy were the main reasons not to download the app. Cybersecurity, data confidentiality, loss of privacy, and geolocation were the most frequent concerns. Nearly half of the respondents inaccurately believed that the app used geolocation. Most respondents supported citizen involvement in app development. The identified predictors for app uptake included nine characteristics. In conclusion, this project highlights four key themes on how to promote the social acceptability of such tools: (1) improved communication and explanation of key app characteristics, (2) design features that incentivize adoption, (3) inclusive socio-technical features, and (4) upstream public partnership in development and deployment.
Public Perspectives on Exposure Notification Apps: A Patient and Citizen Co-Designed Study
Esli Osmanlliu
Jesseca Paquette
Maria Alejandra Rodriguez Duarte
Sylvain Bédard
Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin
Majlinda Zhegu
Marie-Eve Bouthillier
Annie-Danielle Grenier
Paul Lewis
Marie-Pascale Pomey
Canada deployed a digital exposure notification app (COVID Alert) as a strategy to support manual contact tracing. Our aims are to (1) asses… (see more)s the use, knowledge, and concerns of the COVID Alert app, (2) identify predictors of app downloads, and (3) develop strategies to promote social acceptability. A 36-item questionnaire was co-designed by 12 citizens and patients partnered with 16 academic researchers and was distributed in the province of Québec, Canada, from May 27 to 28 June 2021. Of 959 respondents, 43% had downloaded the app. Messaging from government sources constituted the largest influence on app download. Infrequent social contacts and perceived app inefficacy were the main reasons not to download the app. Cybersecurity, data confidentiality, loss of privacy, and geolocation were the most frequent concerns. Nearly half of the respondents inaccurately believed that the app used geolocation. Most respondents supported citizen involvement in app development. The identified predictors for app uptake included nine characteristics. In conclusion, this project highlights four key themes on how to promote the social acceptability of such tools: (1) improved communication and explanation of key app characteristics, (2) design features that incentivize adoption, (3) inclusive socio-technical features, and (4) upstream public partnership in development and deployment.
Enjeux éthiques de l’IA en santé - Fiche 4
Joé T. Martineau
Frédérique Romy Godin
Janine Badr
Alexandre Castonguay
Martin Cousineau
Philippe Després
Aude Motulsky
Jean Noel Nikiema
Cécile Petitgand
La présente fiche propose une revue des différents enjeux éthiques liés au développement et à l’utilisation des technologies d’int… (see more)elligence artificielle dans le milieu de la santé, en trois parties. D’abord, nous aborderons les enjeux éthiques liés à l’exploitation de données massives nécessaires à l’entrainement des algorithmes de l’IA. Ensuite, nous présenterons les principaux enjeux éthiques liés au développement et à l’utilisation des SIA en santé, en abordant la façon dont ces systèmes impactent nos vies ainsi que l’environnement physique et social dans lequel nous vivons. Nous présenterons finalement les principales initiatives nationales et internationales en matière d’éthique de l’IA et de la gestion des données, fruits et reflets d’une réflexion globale sur ces sujets. Ces initiatives ont notamment proposé des lignes directrices et principes normatifs servant de guides pour le développement de technologies de l’IA éthiques et responsables Il s'agit de la quatrième fiche d'une série de 4 développée dans le cadre d'un mandat réalisé pour le Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS).
Medical Doctors in Health Reforms
Jean-Louis Denis
Sabrina Germain
Gianluca Veronesi
Health and legal experts from England and Canada consider the influence of medical doctors on reforms in this comparative study. With reflec… (see more)tions on participation since the inception of publicly funded healthcare systems, they show how the status of doctors affects change.
Interprofessional collaboration and health policy: results from a Quebec mixed method legal research
Marie-Andree Girard
Jean-Louis Denis
Interprofessional collaboration and health policy: results from a Quebec mixed method legal research
Marie-Andree Girard
Jean-Louis Denis
ABSTRACT Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is central to effective care. This practice is structured by an array of laws, regulations an… (see more)d policies but the literature on their impact on IPC is scarce. This study aims to illustrate the gap between the texts and clinicians’ knowledge of the legal framework using an anonymous web-based survey. The survey, sent to nurses and physicians in Quebec, Canada, focused on the IPC legal framework, legal knowledge sources and IPC perceptions or beliefs. The primary outcome was to determine the gap between the law and understanding of the law. The secondary outcome was to identify legal knowledge sources for clinicians in Quebec. A total of 267 participants filled in the survey. For knowledge acquisition, 40% of physicians turned to insurers whereas 43% of nurses turned to their regulatory body. Only 30% of physicians correctly identified what activity is reserved for physicians while 39% of nurses correctly identified their reserved activity. Regarding legal perceptions, 28% of physicians and 39% of nurses thought IPC could increase their liability. These participants have a higher tendency to name liability-related issues as barriers to IPC. These results show an important discrepancy between clinicians’ knowledge about law and policies, and the actual texts themselves. This gap can lead to misinterpretations of the law by clinicians, ineffective policy changes by policymakers and can perpetuate ineffective implementation of IPC.
Correction to: The patient advisor, an organizational resource as a lever for an enhanced oncology patient experience (PAROLEonco): a longitudinal multiple case study protocol
Marie-Pascale Pomey
Michèle de Guise
Mado Desforges
Karine Bouchard
Cécile Vialaron
Louise Normandin
Monica Iliescu‐Nelea
Israël Fortin
Isabelle Ganache
Zeev Rosberger
Danielle Charpentier
L. Bélanger
Michel Dorval
Djahanchah Philip Ghadiri
Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay
A. Boivin
Jean-François Pelletier
Nicolas Fernandez
Alain M. Danino
The patient advisor, an organizational resource as a lever for an enhanced oncology patient experience (PAROLE-onco): a longitudinal multiple case study protocol
Marie-Pascale Pomey
Michèle de Guise
Mado Desforges
Karine Bouchard
Cécile Vialaron
Louise Normandin
Monica Iliescu‐Nelea
Israël Fortin
Isabelle Ganache
Zeev Rosberger
Danielle Charpentier
L. Bélanger
Michel Dorval
Djahanchah Philip Ghadiri
Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay
A. Boivin
Jean-François Pelletier
Nicolas Fernandez
Alain M. Danino
Analyzing the Contribution of Ethical Charters to Building the Future of Artificial Intelligence Governance
Lyse Langlois
Enjeux juridiques propres au modèle émergent des patients accompagnateurs dans les milieux de soins au Québec (Legal Issues Arising from the Emerging Model of Accompanying Patients in the Quebec Healthcare System)
Léa Boutrouille
Marie-Pascale Pomey