Deven Desai is the Sue and John Staton Professor in Business Law and one of the instructors in the new AI for Business Executive Education course. We talked to him to learn more about his background and interest in AI and emerging tech.
When did you start becoming interested in AI and emerging tech?
I started as a litigator at the dawn of the commercial internet. It was vital to understand the way emerging technology worked if I wanted to handle new legal and ethical challenges. My work on information theory led to a position at Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, and from there, I went to Google. AI was everywhere, even back then, and continues to influence my work.
What challenges in this industry are you most passionate about?
Getting the technology correct as we find solutions to integrating technology into society and mitigating potential harms while getting the best parts of technology.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned since you started teaching?
Everyone has a unique story that influences how they got to where they are in the classroom and how they think and feel about whatever we are studying.
What advice do you have for prospective students to be successful in this course?
There is no set answer or path. Or, as Bruce Lee said, "Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves."
Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t know or guess.
I studied and trained Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Kali with mixed martial arts fighters.