Welcome to the online press kit for Vasant Dhar

Shaping How the World Thinks With Machines

Professor, NYU Stern School of Business & Center for Data Science | Podcast Host, “Brave New World” | Author, “Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI” (Nov. 18, 2025)

NYU Stern Professor Vasant Dhar is an AI pioneer who brought machine learning to Wall Street in the early 1990s, building some of the first systematic trading strategies and transforming how financial markets use data. Today, his research spans AI governance, finance, health care, olfaction, sports, and consumer technology. In 2024, he co-authored “Data Science in Olfaction,” introducing “oMNIST,” which included the first standardized neural datasets for smell — groundbreaking work that could allow AI to detect disease years before symptoms appear, build “digital noses” for food safety, and transform consumer technology.

Professor Dhar’s forthcoming book, “Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI,” explores how we decide when to trust AI — in medicine, education, finance, and everyday life.

Clear, urgent, and deeply human, Dhar’s personal journey through AI makes “Thinking With Machines” feel less like science fiction and more like a mirror — helping us reflect on trust, resilience, and what it means to stay grounded in a world racing ahead.

– David Ko, CEO, Calm

Professor Dhar on AI: Finding the Edge Between Human and Machine

Across media, finance, health care, and now olfaction (AI smell tech), Vasant Dhar’s work challenges us to ask the right questions about artificial intelligence. Questions like:

Will AI bifurcate humanity and create a new divide? When should we trust machines?
When must humans stay in control?
Who will control the “brains” of the future? How should we think about new laws for AI that establish its restrictions, obligations, and rights?
Will access to this intelligence be democratized or concentrated in the hands of a few?

Vasant Dhar, Ph.D., is a Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and the Center for Data Science and one of the world’s leading authorities on prediction, data science, and trust in AI. His research explores when we should rely on machines to make decisions — and when we must retain human oversight.

“Vasant Dhar has a unique perspective: building trading algorithms that compound tiny edges into fortunes, then watching AI evolve from narrow applications to a general-purpose technology. In ‘Thinking With Machines,’ he reveals when to trust algorithms, when to stay skeptical, and how to govern AI before it governs us. A must-read for our AI-powered future.” — Erik Brynjolfsson, Professor at Stanford University and Co-Founder of Workhelix, Inc.

Dhar also hosts the “Brave New World” podcast, where he interviews thought leaders about the future of technology, ethics, and humanity. His approachable style and ability to explain complex ideas make him a sought-after commentator for health care, parenting, education, finance, and tech media. His forthcoming book, “Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI,” offers a practical framework for thriving in an AI-driven world.

What Professor Dhar Offers the Media

• Timely Interviews & Commentary – Breaking AI news, health care innovation, education, finance, and ethics.


• Book Coverage & Exclusive Excerpts – Advance chapters, review copies, author interviews, and op-eds tied to “Thinking With Machines.”


• Health & Medicine Stories – Early disease detection through AI smell tech, digital noses for food safety, and the regulatory frameworks needed for clinical trust.


• Money & Markets Insights – Expert commentary on how AI is transforming finance, investing, and risk — from Wall Street trading floors to everyday personal finance decisions.


• Parenting & Education Segments – “5 Questions Parents Should Ask About AI” and guidance on keeping kids engaged, not over-automated.


• Future of AI Governance – Who will control the “brains” of tomorrow, whether AI power will be democratized or centralized, and why this matters for innovation.


• Podcast & Broadcast Guest – Engaging conversationalist and experienced media presence.


• Speaking Engagements – Keynotes, panels, and workshops on AI decision-making, risk calibration, and thriving at the human–machine edge.

News & Story Ideas

• Finance & AI: The Man Who Brought Machine Learning to Wall Street: How Professor Dhar pioneered systematic trading in the 1990s — and what the next wave of AI means for investors, markets, and regulators.


• AI That Smells: How olfaction datasets could unlock new diagnostics for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and metabolic disease.


• Trusting Machines: Practical decision-making frameworks from “Thinking With Machines” — when to rely on AI, when to override it.


• Parenting & AI Literacy: Five questions parents should ask schools right now about AI use.


• Consumer Technology: The coming “digital nose” revolution in food safety, fragrance, and environmental health.


• Multisensory AI: Beyond ChatGPT and computer vision — the future when AI can smell, touch, and maybe even taste.


• The Human Side of AI: Ethics and transparency as matters of public trust, not just technical jargon.


• New Laws for AI: How should we think about the obligations and rights of AI?

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Connect with Professor Dhar: VasantDhar.com.