Columbia University Seminar on AI for Social Good and Society Kicks Off First Public Event of the Academic Year with Talk by Microsoft’s Dr. Rahul Dodhia

Columbia University Seminar on AI for Social Good and Society (AI4SGS) convened October 13, 2026 at Faculty House to host featured guest speaker Dr. Rahul M. Dodhia, Deputy Director of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft, who presented on the promise and responsibility of leveraging machine learning to solve complex global problems.

Co-chaired by Dr. Nabila El-Bassel (University Professor and Director of the Social Intervention Group) and Dr. Tian Zheng (Professor of Statistics), the AI4SGS University Seminar represents the first AI-themed Seminar in the history of Columbia’s University Seminars program. A lively discussion followed the presentation with an interactive discussion with the speaker and between seminar members. This innovative series fosters interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars, practitioners, and leaders spanning public health, social work, statistics, engineering, industry, government, and cultural institutions.

The next AISGS Seminar meeting will be held, Dec. 1, and is currently scheduled to feature talks from representatives from the Columbia School of Social Work, Microsoft Research, and Weill Cornell Medicine.

About the Seminar Series
The AI for Social Good and Society University Seminar serves as a cross-disciplinary forum connecting faculty across Columbia University, including the School of Social Work, Department of Statistics, Engineering, and the Business School, with external collaborators from institutions such as NYU, Cornell Tech, CUNY, the American Museum of Natural History, and Microsoft Research. Click here if you are interested in learning more.