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OCAD U CO
Best Practices for Human-Centred AI

Foreword from the Managing Director

At OCAD University, we believe AI should expand, not replace, human creativity.

As Everton Lewis, Managing Director of OCADU CO, reminds us, AI is most powerful when it partners with people, extending our capacity to think, imagine, and design.

 

Technology only has value when it truly works for people. That’s why human-centred design remains at the core of what we do, keeping AI ethical, inclusive, and grounded in real human needs.

Through this course, OCADU CO bridges design, technology, and human insight to help professionals create AI that aligns with human values and builds futures that are both innovative and deeply human.

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Course Overview

Artificial intelligence is transforming every industry but true innovation happens only when technology serves people first.

 

Best Practices for Human-Centred AI is an engaging, self-paced course from OCADU CO, where design, ethics, creativity, and technology meet.

 

Blending a strong foundation in AI fundamentals with insights on global governance frameworks and hands-on guidance using Microsoft’s Human-AI eXperience (HAX) Toolkit, this course provides practical strategies for designing HCD–AI products and services that are fair, inclusive, and trustworthy.

 

You’ll also gain best practices for stakeholder engagement, along with a downloadable Resource Toolkit and optional exercises to help you reflect, apply, and strengthen what you’ve learned.

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Your instructor, Vanessa Rementilla, is a recognized HCD–AI leader who has shaped organizational transformation and innovation through human-centred design and emerging technologies. She will guide you through the key principles, tools, and frameworks for designing responsible, human-focused AI systems.

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What You'll Learn 

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:​

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  • Explain how AI has evolved and identify the seven common patterns of AI in everyday life.
     

  • Recognize real-world risks of poor AI design, including misinformation, bias, and system vulnerabilities.
     

  • Understand global AI ethics and governance frameworks and how policy may impact implementation.
     

  • Learn how to use Microsoft’s Human-AI eXperience (HAX) Toolkit to evaluate and design responsible, user-facing AI products.
     

  • Learn how to engage stakeholders effectively across the AI design lifecycle to build alignment and accountability.
     

  • Reflect on your own perspectives and relationship with AI, both in how you use it and how you might shape its design.

Who It's For

This course is ideal for:

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  • Designers, developers, managers and researchers working with or designing AI products.
     

  • Educators and students exploring human-centred or ethical technology.
     

  • Policy, innovation, and strategy professionals who want to bridge design and AI governance.
     

No coding experience required, just curiosity and a commitment to responsible innovation.

Course Structure

Lesson 1 – A Brief Evolution of AI

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Trace AI’s journey from rule-based logic to machine learning, generative, and agentic systems, and understand how this evolution shapes responsible design.

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Lesson 2 – When AI Gets It Wrong

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Explore real-world failures in hiring, misinformation, and security. Learn why ethical oversight and inclusive design matter.

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Lesson 3 – Responsible AI Frameworks

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Examine the major international efforts shaping AI ethics and regulation, from OECD principles to the EU AI Act and Canada’s AIDA proposal.

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Lesson 4 – The HAX Toolkit

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Discover Microsoft’s Human-AI eXperience Toolkit: 18 guidelines, design libraries, and playbooks that make ethical AI tangible and actionable.

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Lesson 5 – HAX Activity: Quick Design Audit

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Apply what you’ve learned by auditing an AI product through the HAX lens to identify improvements and opportunities.

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Lesson 6 – Stakeholder Best Practices

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Learn how to collaborate across disciplines and embed ethics into team workflows and project decisions.

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Lesson 7 – Key Takeaways

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Synthesize principles, tools, and global lessons for creating responsible, human-centred AI systems.

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Lesson 8 – Closing & Toolkit Download

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Access your complete Best Practices Resource Toolkit, including frameworks, readings, and activities for continued application.

Course Format

  • Mode: Online, self-paced
     

  • Approximate runtime: 40 minutes, plus additional time for self-paced activities. Total estimated time is about 1.5 hours.
     

Includes: Reflections, activities, downloadable toolkit

Extend Your Learning

For teams and organizations, OCADU Co offers an expanded in-person workshop, where participants apply the human-centred AI approach directly to their own products or services.

Enroll Today

Join us in shaping an AI-enabled future that’s innovative, ethical, and deeply human.

Still have questions? Contact us.

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