When tech serves the public interest, we all benefit

Governments change, priorities get articulated differently, but ultimately, technology and academic institutions like NYU and this space, which is the United States, is by design inclusive…so that we can all work together across divides.”
— Julia Stoyanovich, Director and Founder of the Center for Responsible AI

"There shouldn't be a tech for bad; all tech should be tech for good," said NYU Tandon Institute Associate Professor Julia Stoyanovich, setting the stage for an event that brought together students and leaders from the academic and nonprofit realms to discuss how engineers can pursue careers in AI that positively impact society.

Hosted by NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF), the event — which featured Juan de Pablo, Executive Vice President for Global Science and Technology at NYU and Executive Dean of NYU Tandon; Vilas Dhar, President of PJMF; and Hazem Mahmoud, Director of Products and Services at PJMF, among other speakers — resulted in several key takeaways.

Mahmoud, for example, focused on power and responsibility in AI technology, highlighting PJMF's work ensuring that nonprofits "proximate to the problems" have a voice in AI development, and as one important example, he cited the group’s support of the Safe Water Optimization Tool, which uses AI to maintain safe chlorine levels in refugee-camp water supplies.

Dhar and de Pablo made their points during a discussion moderated by Sayar Lonial, NYU Tandon's Vice Dean for External Affairs and Public Relations, exploring AI's rapid advancement and broader societal implications. Dhar traced how humanity has evolved from systems that limit human power to "building tools that actually expand" human potential and emphasized the importance of "beneficence, dignity, justice, and equity" alongside technical progress.

de Pablo expanded upon those themes, stressing the importance of inclusivity and transparency. “We need to demonstrate the importance of having [responsible AI] guardrails in place, to show what happens when you don’t,” he said. “We need to make sure that they’re implemented in a manner that is easily accessible, that is collaborative, that is cooperating.”

The two advocated for a new approach to technological careers, encouraging aspiring STEM professionals to find problems they feel passionate about and collaborate across disciplines, and while their conversation did not shy away from the practical challenges in AI development, they found reason for optimism. Dhar pointed out promising innovations like AI weather prediction models that could operate "for pennies on the dollar" compared to traditional supercomputers, potentially freeing up "60% of the world's high performance computing" for other tasks.

They concluded by emphasizing the need for new institutional frameworks that would enable graduates to pursue purpose-driven work without choosing between high-paying careers and lower-compensated but meaningful work. New public institutions such as the World Bank or the IMF could be built, Dhar envisioned, focused on "bringing technology to the greatest of [social] problems."

The afternoon’s other speakers included Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement, Pathways & Public Interest Technology at NYU, who shared valuable insights from a conversation he had with Chief Standing Bear of Osage Nation. He related that Chief Standing Bear had explained the need for technological help on the reservation, the importance of community-led solutions, and the expectation that commitments made must be kept.

Public interest technology, McIlwain realized, should apply those principles while "trying to help bridge communities and gaps between communities and technologies.”

Julia Stoyanovich, who leads NYU Tandon's Center for Responsible AI, discussed her Center’s mission of "making responsible AI synonymous with AI" through education, research, and civic engagement. "We have a lot of power individually and collectively," she stated. "We get to decide what the world looks like and how technology affects this world."

Slideshow Presentations

Hazem Mahmoud — Power and Responsibility: AI & Technology's Impact on Society

Charlton McIlwain

Julia Stoyanovich — Making Responsible AI Synonymous with AI

The event also featured two lightning talks:

Valmik Patel, a PJMF data scientist, shared his transition from the private sector to nonprofit work, encouraging engineering students to consider the social sector for meaningful impact.

Tandon master's student Yukta Kulkarni presented her innovative AI model for drug recommendations, designed to provide "more personalized training, transparent and equitable treatment suggestions" for healthcare professionals.