From Dungeons & Dragons to Human-Centric AI: A Fireside Chat with Michael Robbins
What does it take to bridge education, civic engagement, and technology — and then carry that experience into shaping the frontier of human-centric AI?
Join us for an inspiring fireside chat with Michael Robbins, a social entrepreneur and cross-sector innovator with over 30 years of experience at the intersection of education, technology, and civic life. He is currently architecting Gameshow, an “Everyone App” to enable digital personhood, data dignity, and human-centric AI.
Michael’s journey has spanned opening a pioneering public boarding school with the SEED Foundation, driving national expansion at FIRST Robotics, and serving in the Obama Administration, where he led initiatives connecting communities, schools, and government through tech-enabled partnerships. Alongside his leadership roles, he has mentored founders at GSVLabs, 1776, and the University of Maryland’s Dingman Center, helping mission-driven startups navigate product-market fit, fundraising, and social impact.
In this conversation — hosted by Stephanie Melodia — Michael will share the hard-won insights, tactical frameworks, and unfiltered truths he’s gained from decades of building at the crossroads of innovation and impact.
In this session, Michael will cover:
• How to align product-market fit with social mission
• Lessons from scaling national education and civic programs
• What founders need to know about fundraising for impact ventures
• The future of AI governance and digital public infrastructure
• Why human-centric design is the next big frontier
Whether you’re building in AI, education, civic tech, or impact-driven innovation, this is your chance to learn from someone who has done it all — from coding Dungeons & Dragons characters on a TRS-80 to chairing the W3C Human-Centric AI Community Group.
Don’t miss it!