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Vilas Dhar

President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Working at the intersection of AI, governance, and public purpose.

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© 2026 Vilas Dhar. All rights reserved.

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Essays

Writing

Essays, op-eds, and articles in TIME, Boston Globe, Financial Times, OECD, WEF, and more — on AI governance, technology, and public purpose.

37 pieces · 2026–2019

2026

1 piece
TIME

The Fight Over AI Is Really a Fight Over Who GovernsFeaturedFull text

Tech executives have told us that AI will remake our jobs, schools, relationships, and wars. But we were also asked to believe we would all benefit from a change unfolding without our consent or participation.

2025

16 pieces
TIME

The U.N.'s AI Turning PointFeaturedFull text

The United Nations has a narrow window to shape the governance of AI before the technology outpaces the institutions designed to govern it.

Institut Montaigne

The $900 Billion Question: Redistributing Control of AI DevelopmentFeatured

The concentration of AI development in a handful of companies is not inevitable. It is a policy choice, and it can be reversed.

Frontiers Policy Labs

Designing Capability: Institutions and the Future of Emerging ComputeFeatured

The countries that invest in governance alongside compute capacity will shape the terms of AI development for everyone else.

OECD

Why Cities Must Build, Not Buy, the Infrastructure of IntelligenceFeatured

Cities that outsource their AI infrastructure to private vendors are not governing. They are accepting terms set by others.

Politico

5 Questions for Vilas DharFeatured

On AI governance, the UN's role, and what philanthropy owes the public interest in the age of generative AI.

Financial Times

AI Might Run the Business, but You Can't Automate a BoardFeatured

AI can optimize operations, but fiduciary responsibility, and the judgment it requires, cannot be automated.

US News & World Report

Could AI Lift Up Workers in an Unsung Profession?FeaturedFull text

Co-authored with Jade Lin. AI has the potential to transform home care, one of the most undervalued professions in America, if we build it right.

Indian Express

India's IPL Moment in AI: A Bid for Global LeadershipFeatured

India's digital public goods approach offers a model for AI governance that the rest of the world should study.

Boston Globe

AI's Development Still Depends on All of UsFeatured

The choices being made right now about AI governance will determine whether this technology serves the public or concentrates power.

US News & World Report

How China's AI Breakthrough Could Make Technology More DemocraticFeaturedFull text

DeepSeek's emergence challenges the assumption that AI leadership requires massive concentrated capital. That's good news for everyone.

NACD Directorship

Health Systems Are Betting Big on AI. Are Boards Ready?Featured

Health system boards face a governance challenge unlike any they've encountered: AI systems making consequential decisions faster than oversight can follow.

World Economic Forum

What the World Can Learn from India's Inclusive AI JourneyFeatured

India's approach to AI, building public digital infrastructure rather than relying on private platforms, offers lessons for every country.

World Economic Forum

Why cybersecurity's future depends on people, not just technology

The News Gazette

My Turn: Will small farms be left out of the AI revolution?

Alliance Magazine

AI is transforming humanitarian response to climate disasters

Chronicle of Philanthropy

How A.I. Could Solve Humanity's Biggest Problems - If Philanthropy Catches Up

2024

3 pieces
Project Syndicate

Will 2024 Be the Year of Responsible AI?Featured

The window for building responsible AI governance is open, but it will not stay open indefinitely. 2024 is a pivotal year for the choices that will define the next decade.

US News & World Report

You'll Manage AI, Not the Other Way AroundFull text

Fidelity Charitable

Philanthropy's AI Moment: A Chance to Transform Giving for Good

2023

4 pieces
Center for Effective Philanthropy

Consumers to Creators: Philanthropy and Nonprofits Can Build AI for Impact

Institute of Directors

Ethics & Technology: The New Frontier of Responsible Board Governance

World Economic Forum

5 reasons why empowering women and girls can revolutionise the fight against climate change

The Hill

10 AI Trends to watch for in 2023

2022

1 piece
Illinois Storytellers

Investing in technology that can create lasting social change

2021

6 pieces
The Hill

US Digital Corps essential for our human-centered, tech-enabled future

The Independent

To guard against another pandemic, we need decisive action from both civil society and the private sector

Project Syndicate

A Hybrid Strategy Against Pandemics

Chronicle of Philanthropy / WEF Agenda

Philanthropy Needs to Prepare Itself for a World Powered by Artificial Intelligence

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Four ways AI can help tackle climate change

The Hill

Reclaiming American leadership in AI and data science

2020

5 pieces
Nature

Coronavirus: Time to Re-imagine Academic PublishingFeatured

The pandemic exposed the structural failures of academic publishing. The crisis is an opportunity to build something better.

Nationswell

To Build It Back Better, Nonprofits Must Become Data Guardians

The Hill

COVID-19 has destroyed millions of jobs - It's time to reskill America

Stanford Social Innovation Review

COVID-19 Is Challenging Medical and Scientific Publishing

World Economic Forum

To harness the AI age, governments must keep these 7 factors in mind

2019

1 piece
Project Syndicate / WEF Agenda

How AI Can Promote Social Good