Professor Werbach talks with Ashley Casavan, Managing Director of the AI Governance Center at the IAPP, the global association for privacy professional and related roles. Ashley shares how privacy, data protection, and AI governance are converging, and why professionals must combine technical, policy, and risk expertise. They discuss efforts to build a skills competency framework for AI roles and examine the evolving global regulatory landscape—from the EU’s AI Act to U.S. state-level initiatives. Drawing on Ashley’s experience in the Canadian government, the episode also explores broader societal challenges, including the need for public dialogue and the hidden impacts of automated decision-making.

Ashley Casovan serves as the primary thought leader and public voice for the IAPP on AI governance. She has developed expertise in responsible AI, standards, policy, open government and data governance in the public sector at the municipal and federal levels. As the director of data and digital for the government of Canada, Casovan previously led the development of the world’s first national government policy for responsible AI. Casovan served as the Executive Director of the Responsible AI Institute, a member of OECD’s AI Policy Observatory Network of Experts, a member of the World Economic Forum's AI Governance Alliance, an Executive Board Member of the International Centre of Expertise in Montréal on Artificial Intelligence and as a member of the IFIP/IP3 Global Industry Council within the UN.

Ashley Casovan: From Privacy Practice to AI Governance