Dr. Shane Saunderson

Dr. Shane Saunderson is a modern day polymath. With a career straddling a foot in each of academia and industry, Shane’s perspective is coloured by his wealth of experience in engineering, social research, and management consulting. He spent the earlier part of his career as an entrepreneur in North America and Europe focused on product design, mobile robotics, connected devices, and automation. Shane then spent over a decade consulting for Fortune 500 clients on digital strategy, disruptive innovation, and technology development, before turning his focus towards academic research.

Shane uses his unique blend of intuition and analytics to help people work through some of their most wicked problems and innovate in unforeseen directions. Part engineer, part artist, part businessman, part storyteller, and part battery-licker, Shane approaches each project with a hunger to learn and create something new. He is a prolific writer and confident presenter who is frequently asked to lecture or give keynotes on topics such as robotics, AI, design thinking, and the future of technology in society.

Currently, Shane is an Assistant Professor at McMaster University researching why we treat robots, AI, and other social machines like people. He also lectures on digital transformation, design thinking, and emerging technologies with Schulich Executive Education at York University. Shane is a former Vanier Canada scholar who holds a PhD in robotics with a specialization in psychology from the University of Toronto, a MBA in technology and innovation from the Ted Rogers School of Management in Toronto, and a B. Eng. from McGill University in Montreal. Previously, he founded Artificial Futures, a digital strategy and user experience firm for the age of AI; was the VP of Technology with Idea Couture, a strategy & innovation consultancy; chaired the Microsoft Canada Artificial Intelligence Partner Advisory Board (aiPAB); and co-founded Babbly, an AI-powered infant tech start-up.