Wendy Wong Keynote Speaker

Balsillie Prize winner for We, the Data (2024)
Professor & Principal’s Research Chair, UBC
Leading expert on tech, governance & human rights

Wendy Wong's Biography

Dr. Wendy H. Wong brings an insightful, politically-attuned lens to the questions of what Big Tech (not just AI) actually “do” to the ways we live, work, and play. Drawing on her expertise in international politics, civil society, and human rights her work reveals how digital transformation is fundamentally reshaping the structures that govern modern life. Dr. Wong is the author of We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), recipient of the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy in 2024—making her the first and only woman and person of color to receive this honour to date. The book also won 2026 Best Book (Human Rights) at the International Studies Association, and was shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize and has been widely recognized for advancing public understanding of rights, governance, and digital society.

She is currently Professor and Principal’s Research Chair at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan). Her work has been supported by major funding bodies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She previously held senior academic and leadership roles at the University of Toronto, where she directed the Trudeau Center for Peace, Conflict, and Justice and contributed to interdisciplinary research on emerging technologies.

Currently, Dr. Wong has two books under contract: Mirrored States: How to Govern Big Tech (Penguin Canada) and Governance Constellations (Cornell University Press). She is also a frequent media commentator on technology and society, regularly contributing to public conversations on the implications of digital transformation on CBC, TVO, and many other podcasts and radio outlets, as well as a contributor to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and The Montreal Gazette, among others.

Dr. Wong is widely sought after by organizations navigating the societal and strategic implications of emerging technologies. Her work equips decision-makers with the insight and clarity needed to respond effectively to a rapidly evolving digital landscape. She challenges organizations and policymakers to move beyond conventional approaches and adopt more sophisticated frameworks for understanding power, accountability, and citizenship in a data-driven world.

AI and Human Rights

Why is AI a human rights issue, and not just a matter of innovation and progress? This distinction matters for how organizations approach the adoption and use of AI.

Why Big Data Is Still Big—and Why It Matters

Data about you and everyone else are everywhere and are being generated at incredibly high rates. This matters because data do not operate according to the same logic as the analog world we are used to. How does our understanding of reality need to evolve?

What Is Big Tech?

Big Tech is a way of life we are familiar with: living with and through datahungry digital platforms. What does this normalization of platform dependence mean for us as individuals and societies?

Governing Big Tech

Big Tech companies appear to rule the world. What new ways of thinking are needed to curb their power while still taking advantage of their innovations? (Hint: it’s not antitrust or fines.)

Datafication and What It Means for All of Us

Data are everywhere and inform almost all business and government decisions. These data have implications for all of us, whether we recognize them or not, in our lives—and possibly beyond.

She operates at the intersection of technology, politics and human rights, analysing how digital transformation is reshaping modern governance.
She translates complex issues around Big Tech, data and power into clear insight that helps organisations understand their societal impact.
She brings world-class academic authority as an award-winning author, including We, the Data, recognised for advancing global policy debates.
She is an engaging speaker who combines rigorous research with a politically informed perspective on technology and society.
Her insights equip leaders to navigate digital governance, accountability and the evolving role of technology in shaping our lives.