Ian Kerr

Ian Kerr holds the Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law & Technology at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, with cross appointments to the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Philosophy and School of Information Studies. Dr. Kerr has published books and articles on topics at the intersection of ethics, law and technology and is currently engaged in research on two broad themes: (i) Privacy and Surveillance; and (ii) Human-Machine Mergers. Building on his recent Oxford University Press book, Lessons from the Identity Trail, his ongoing privacy work focuses on the interplay between emerging public and private sector surveillance technologies, civil liberties and human rights. His more recent focus on robotics and implantable devices examines legal and ethical implications of emerging technologies in the health sector.

In the past five years, Dr. Kerr’s research has attracted five million dollars in support from the Canada’s Tri-Council, including recent funding for his work on artificial organs and medical enhancement devices. He is the co-director of the Canada Research Chair Laboratory in Law and Technology, a facility supporting the work of 40 researchers. His devotion to teaching has earned him six awards and citations, including the Bank of Nova Scotia Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Award of Teaching Excellence, and the University of Ottawa AEECLSS, Teaching Excellence Award. His innovative, interdisciplinary courses—Building Better Humans? and The Laws of Robotics—have garnered international attention, with regular invitations to lecture and teach at prestigious institutions across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Dr. Kerr sits on numerous editorial and advisory boards and is co-author of Managing the Law: The Legal Aspects of Doing Business, a business law text published by Prentice Hall and used by thousands of students each year at universities across Canada.