Get to know AI Safety Foundation's partners for the inaugural AI Safety Week, Nov. 9-13 in Toronto.
Our Only Human series spotlights the real people working on AI safety.
The Future Society is one of the inaugural partners for AI Safety Week. Kathrin Gardhouse is a Senior AI Governance Associate at The Future Society and the Policy Lead of AI Governance and Safety Canada in which roles she advises policymakers on risks from general-purpose and agentic AI and appropriate regulatory responses. As a Summer Research Fellow, she contributed to a legal commentary to the EU AI Act by the Institute for Law and AI, writing about the AI Office's enforcement powers. She is also a Board Member at AI Governance and Safety Canada, and at Trajectory Labs, an AI safety community hub in Toronto. Kathrin is a lawyer by training and holds a philosophy PhD from McMaster University. She is certified by the IAPP as an Information Protection and AI Governance Professional.
1. Why does AI safety matter to you?
The changes that frontier AI will bring to all aspects of society will be transformative and overwhelming in speed and scope. I'm baffled by the fact that the development and release of such dangerous technologies is going largely unchecked.
This leaves us all at the mercy of large AI companies operating within incentive structures whose misalignment with human well-being is becoming blatantly obvious. Tackling these complex issues is one of the most important things one could do. I have some skills that can help move the needle, so I feel compelled to contribute.
2. What's one thing you're proud of in your work in AI safety?
As part of several organizations dedicated to making AI safe — slowing capability development to give us time to prepare, prohibiting frontier AI development that can't currently be done safely, crafting policies to address the coming changes — I'm in an incredibly privileged position.
Most people will not experience a sense of agency in shaping the trajectory of AI developments, but they will be equally affected. So, I'm proud of contributing to concrete solutions and bringing them in front of the people that can take the necessary actions.
3. What's one thing that's surprising to you with respect to AI safety?
Influential voices resist regulation out of a concern that it can stifle innovation for beneficial purposes, like curing diseases and fixing climate change. I'm surprised by how persistent this narrative is. It's so easily rebutted.
We can only reap these benefits if the technology is safe and does reliably what is asked of it, without the potential side-effect of going rogue and potentially causing large-scale harm on a global scale. It's still hard for me to comprehend how we're not all on the same page here.
5. What can someone who's interested in AI safety do next to get involved?
Everyone's voice matters and many skills are helpful. I know a comedian who brings attention to the issue through jokes!
You can email your parliamentary rep and push for leadership in international frontier AI governance efforts with a focus on the most severe risks, including loss of control over autonomous AI agents.
Political inertia persists because leadership doesn't think this ranks with issues like tariffs in people's minds. Changing that perception is something everyone can do. Make it known: you won't vote for someone without a plan to keep you safe.
Stay tuned for more inaugural AI Safety Week | Only Human partner profiles. Join us Nov. 9-13.