Vilas Dhar on Responsible AI: What Leading a $1.5B AI Foundation Taught Him

Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI, joins host Aaron Strout to define what responsible AI actually means.

A former computer scientist turned human rights lawyer, Dhar now leads a $1.5 billion philanthropy funding AI for public good. He unpacks “system agenticness,” the risk of outsourcing moral responsibility to machines and explains why boardrooms need new questions for AI strategy, not just adoption metrics. The conversation covers AI’s real-world impact on blood-supply logistics and tax preparation, his global policy work at the UN and World Economic Forum, and why he believes hope, love, and human dignity belong at the center of AI governance. They close with quick-fire picks on favorite shows, mentors, and dream concerts.

Show Links:
*Vilas Dhar bio — Patrick J. McGovern Foundation: https://www.mcgovern.org/about-president-vilas-s-dhar/

• Patrick J. McGovern Foundation: https://www.mcgovern.org
• Vilas Dhar — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilas_Dhar
• Vilas Dhar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vilasdhar/
• How Change Really Works by Julia Dhar (Vilas’s wife, mentioned as his most-admired person): https://bigthink.com/people/julia-dhar/
• Queen’s Live Aid performance at Wembley, 1985 (Vilas’s dream concert): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_performance_at_Live_Aid