Joined Stern 1983
Leonard N. Stern School of Business
Kaufman Management Center
44 West Fourth Street, 8-92
New York, NY 10012
Vasant Dhar
Biography
Vasant Dhar is an Artificial Intelligence researcher and data scientist and host of the podcast, "Brave New World," which explores how technology and virtualization in the post-COVID era is transforming humanity. He brought Machine Learning to Wall Street in the 90s, and subsequently founded the Machine-Learning-Based hedge-fund SCT Capital Management. He publishes fortnightly at vasantdhar.substack.com.
Dhar’s research focuses on how risk influences our trust in AI systems. It shows the existence of an “automation frontier” that expresses a tradeoff between how often the machine will be wrong and the consequences of its errors. Trust, and hence our willingness to cede control of decision making to the machine, rises with decreasing error rates and lower error costs. The automation frontier provides a natural way to think about the division of responsibility between humans and machines and future of work.
More broadly, Dhar’s research examines how innovations such as Artificial Intelligence impact our lives, and how we can create technology and policy for a better future in a world of increasingly intelligent machines.
Dhar writes regularly in the media on Artificial Intelligence, societal risks of AI platforms, data governance, privacy, ethics, and trust. He is a frequent speaker in academic and industrial forums.
Professor Dhar teaches courses on Systematic Investing, Data Science, Prediction, and Tech Innovation.
He has written over 100 research articles, funded by grants from industry and government agencies such as the National Science Foundation.
Professor Dhar received his Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, and his Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh.
Courses Taught
- Foundations of FinTech
- Introduction to Data Science
- Robo Advisors and Systematic Investing
Academic Background
Ph.D., Artificial Intelligence, 1984
University of Pittsburgh
M.Phil., 1982
University of Pittsburgh
B.Tech., Chemical Engineering, 1978
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Related News & Research
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “Klarna Used an AI-generated CEO to Share Financials. Will More Companies Follow?”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “You Might Be Better Off With a Robo-Advisor. When It Makes Sense.”
The Paradigm Shifts in Artificial Intelligence.
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “Microsoft Claims Its New AI Correction Feature Can Fix Hallucinations. Does It Work?”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “How AI Makes Biometric Payments Riskier.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “Nvidia’s Stock Split is Largely ‘Cosmetic,’ and Mammoth Gains Could Keep Rolling in.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “A Startup Tested if ChatGPT and Other AI Chatbots Could Understand SEC Filings. They Failed About 70% of the Time and Only Succeeded if Told Exactly Where to Look.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “X's Wild, Messy 2023 — and What's Next.”
Clinical Professor Karen Brenner and Professor Vasant Dhar interviews: “OpenAI’s ‘Unusual’ Board Could Fire CEO Sam Altman Without Asking Permission From Anyone—Like Its Deep-Pocketed Investor Microsoft.”
Professor Vasant Dhar video interview: “The Path Forward for AI.”
Recent commentary from Professor Vasant Dhar is referenced: “Riding the AI Tsunami: The Next Wave of Generative Intelligence.”
Why It’s Time to Safeguard Against AI Liability.
SVB Was a Hedge Fund in Disguise – And the Banking Crisis is an Overreaction.
‘A Whole New World Is Emerging’: Predictions For the Near Future of AI.
Elon Musk Is Right About Twitter and Solving Section 230.
Brave New World - By Vasant Dhar
Brave New World
Finance Career
Should You Trust Your Money to a Robot?
Google Hedge Fund
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “You Might Be Better Off With a Robo-Advisor. When It Makes Sense.”
The Paradigm Shifts in Artificial Intelligence.
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “Microsoft Claims Its New AI Correction Feature Can Fix Hallucinations. Does It Work?”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “How AI Makes Biometric Payments Riskier.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “Nvidia’s Stock Split is Largely ‘Cosmetic,’ and Mammoth Gains Could Keep Rolling in.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “A Startup Tested if ChatGPT and Other AI Chatbots Could Understand SEC Filings. They Failed About 70% of the Time and Only Succeeded if Told Exactly Where to Look.”
Professor Vasant Dhar interview: “X's Wild, Messy 2023 — and What's Next.”
Clinical Professor Karen Brenner and Professor Vasant Dhar interviews: “OpenAI’s ‘Unusual’ Board Could Fire CEO Sam Altman Without Asking Permission From Anyone—Like Its Deep-Pocketed Investor Microsoft.”
Professor Vasant Dhar video interview: “The Path Forward for AI.”
Recent commentary from Professor Vasant Dhar is referenced: “Riding the AI Tsunami: The Next Wave of Generative Intelligence.”
Why It’s Time to Safeguard Against AI Liability.
SVB Was a Hedge Fund in Disguise – And the Banking Crisis is an Overreaction.
‘A Whole New World Is Emerging’: Predictions For the Near Future of AI.
Elon Musk Is Right About Twitter and Solving Section 230.
Brave New World - By Vasant Dhar
Brave New World
Finance Career
Should You Trust Your Money to a Robot?
Google Hedge Fund
Areas of Expertise
Finance
- High Frequency Trading
Industry
- Publishing
Technology, Operations & Statistics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Database Management
- ITSolutions
- Information Systems Development