Vilas Dhar is a global expert on artificial intelligence policy and a technology and philanthropy executive.[1] He is President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.[2][3][4] The Foundation focuses on Artificial Intelligence and data solutions.[5] The Foundation was created upon the death of IDG's founder Patrick J. McGovern when the ownership of IDG was transferred to the Foundation.

Vilas Dhar
Dhar at the 2023 World Economic Forum
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity Laboratory High School in Urbana, Illinois
Alma materUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS)
New York University (JD)
Harvard University (MPA)
University of Birmingham
Occupations
  • executive
  • advisor
  • trustee
TitlePresident
SpouseJulia Dhar

In October 2023, Dhar was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.[6][7]

Education and career edit

Dhar holds bachelor's degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[8] He has a J.D. from the New York University's School of Law as well as a Master's in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.[9] He was a Gleitsman Fellow on Social Change at Harvard University.

Dhar began his career as an artificial intelligence researcher.[10]

 
Vilas Dhar at the 2023 World Economic Forum (52692509532)

He was the Managing Partner at Dhar Law LLP and a founder of the Next Mile Project prior to joining the McGovern Foundation.[11] Dhar is an advisor to MIT Solve.[12] He serves as a Trustee of the Christensen Fund.[13] He is an expert contributor to OECD.AI.[14] Dhar is co-chair of the Global AI Action Alliance at the World Economic Forum along with Arvind Krishna, the chairman and CEO of IBM.[15] He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2022.[16][17] He serves as an observer to the Global Partnership on AI.[18]

He is a Senior Fellow of the Berggruen Institute. He has also served as a Practitioner Resident on Artificial Intelligence at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy[19] Dhar is a Director of the New England International Donors.[20]

Dhar serves on the Advisory Council at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.[21] He is on the Board of Directors at Access Lex Institute.[22]

Work edit

Dhar advocates the creation of values-based technology and a human-centric, tech-enabled future. He has been quoted in various media outlets including The Washington Post,[2] NBC News,[3] Time Magazine,[4] and The Wall Street Journal,[23] among others.[24]

He has addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos[25] and the United Nations General Assembly.[26]

Dhar and Julia Fetherston wrote about 'impact investing' for the Harvard Business Review. They write that millennial investors will be the ones who "make or break" impact investing. The authors note that millennials "represent a sizeable, well-capitalized cohort of investors with a generational commitment to furthering the social good and a desire to engage their peers — and parents — in doing likewise."

Personal life edit

He is married to Julia Dhar.[27]

He grew up in rural Illinois and attended University Laboratory High School.[28]

References edit

  1. ^ "High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence". un.org. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Dervishi, Kay (11 August 2023). "Foundations seek to advance AI for good — and also protect the world from its threats". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ingram, David (31 December 2022). "Biden signs TikTok ban for government devices, setting up a chaotic 2023 for the app". nbcnews.com. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b S. Mitra Kalita (21 March 2023). "The Humane Response to the Robots Taking Over Our World". time.com. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  5. ^ "About President Vilas S. Dhar". mcgovern.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Secretary-General's Advisory Body Members - Artificial Intelligence". un.org. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  7. ^ Mukherjee, Supantha (27 October 2023). "United Nations creates advisory body to address AI governance". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Vilas Dhar". illinois.edu. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Vilas Dhar MC/MPA 2016 wants to use technology as a democratizing force". hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Vilas Dhar". xprize.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  11. ^ Dhar, Vilas; Fetherston, Julia (3 October 2014). "Impact Investing Needs Millennials". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Vilas Dhar". mit.edu. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Board of Trustees". christensenfund.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Vilas Dhar". Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  15. ^ Tedeneke, Alem (28 June 2021). "World Economic Forum Launches New Global Initiative to Advance the Promise of Responsible Artificial Intelligence". weforum.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Community". younggloballeaders.org. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  17. ^ Werthmuller, Sam (20 April 2022). "From Entrepreneurs to Scientists: Meet the 2022 Class of Young Global Leaders". weforum.org. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Responsible AI Working Group Report" (PDF). gpai.ai. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Vilas Dhar". berggruen.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Our Team". neidonors.org. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Advisory Council". stanford.edu. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Board of Directors". accesslex.org. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  23. ^ Rosenbush, Steven (28 July 2023). "Pro Take: Tech Executives Call for Critical Thinking to Counter Deepfakes, Disinformation". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Vilas Dhar MC/MPA 2016 wants to use technology as a democratizing force". harvard.edu. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Responsible AI for Societal Gains". weforum.org. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  26. ^ "SDG Digital (SDG Action Weekend, Acceleration ..." un.org. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  27. ^ Freeland, Grant (27 August 2018). "Why Millennials Make Great Employees". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Vilas Dhar". ncfp.org. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

External links edit