Much of today’s Canadian discourse on artificial intelligence (AI) governance asks machine learning practitioners and large-scale model providers how these technologies should be regulated, deployed, and adopted. Far less attention has been given to roboticists, despite the growing integration of general-purpose AI into cyber-physical systems deployed in real-world environments. So we’re bringing a seat at the AI governance table directly to you: what questions do you want or need answered? Where should future research, policy, and governance efforts be focused to best support the robotics industry? Our breakout at last year’s symposium laid the foundation for this discussion, leading to three related policy briefs submitted to inform Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy– we’re looking to do more.

Through an interactive, participant-driven discussion, this session aims to:

• Map Robotics to Canada's AI Regulation Strategy: Identify practitioner priorities and where physical robotics systems intersect with Canada's six AI governance pillars:
  1. Protecting Canadians and safeguarding democracy
  2. Ensuring AI empowers Canadians
  3. Powering AI adoption for shared prosperity
  4. Building the Canadian sovereign AI foundation
  5. Scaling Canadian champions
  6. Building trusted partnerships and global alliances
• Establish direct communication: Connect the engineering teams building these systems in practice with the researchers, policymakers, and regulators drafting the policies to ensure future standards and policies are grounded in real-world robotics practice.

Physical AI Governance & Safety

• What technical and operational questions should researchers and policymakers prioritize first to support on-device and physical AI?
• How does governing a physical robot operating in a shared human environment differ from regulating software-only AI models?

Scaling Innovation & Managing Compliance

• How can we ensure safety without creating unnecessary red tape for hardware startups and scaling robotics businesses?
• What concrete tools, templates, or testing frameworks would help engineering teams manage and document compliance on physical deployments?

• A clear list of practitioner-defined priorities regarding research questions, gaps, and regulatory challenges that policymakers need to address.
• Input into upcoming policy and research agendas that ensure Canadian AI regulations reflect the realities of building and deploying physical systems.
• Opportunities for ongoing collaboration with other practitioners, researchers, and regulators after the symposium.