NYU x Microsoft Ethical Tech Summit
Part 2 of the Fall 2026 Ethical Tech Series: Reckoning with emerging tech and the human condition.
The Ethical Tech Summit brings together AI engineers, generative AI builders, researchers, sustainability leaders, and human rights advocates to tackle the most pressing ethical, societal, and technological challenges of our time - to explore solutions, build relationships, and chart steps forward.
This year the Summit is directly linked to our hackathon. The challenges our speakers posed to builders in Part 1 come full circle here: you’ll hear from the people who set them, see what teams built in response, and dig into the questions shaping the next decade of technology.
Engage with leading experts across AI, sustainability, human rights, and emerging tech on topics like:
Responsible AI governance and ethical deployment
AI for sustainability — climate, energy, and environmental impact
Digital privacy, surveillance, and censorship-resistant technologies
Human trafficking detection and social impact technologies
🎤 Previous Speakers
Yorke E. Rhodes III — NYU Center for Global Affairs + Microsoft
Dr. Sylvia Maier — NYU Center for Global Affairs
Carolyn Kissane — Associate Dean, NYU Center for Global Affairs
Ruchira Gupta — Founder, Apne Aap (anti-trafficking)
Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc — Founder, GEC Risk Advisory; author of Governing Pandora
Dr. Sarah Bird — Responsible AI
Dr. Deborah Berebichez — Global AI Products Leader, EY
Mike Prorock — CEO & Founder, Tradeverifyd (AI for policy risk & forced-labor detection)
Shiran Mlamdovsky — GenerativeAIforGood
Megs Shah — Co-Founder & CEO, The Parasol Cooperative
Nasreen Sheikh — Survivor leader, activist & artist, Empowerment Collective
Michael Anthony — Geospatial intelligence entrepreneur (satellite detection & tracking)
🗓️ Proposed Schedule
Co-working space open all day: drop in, get your own work done, and join sessions as they move.
8:00 AM | Check-in · coffee · networking
9:00 AM | Welcome & opening remarks
9:30 AM | Keynote: the human condition meets emerging tech
10:00 AM | Responsible AI governance & ethical deployment
11:00 AM | AI for sustainability — climate, energy & environmental impact
12:00 PM | Lunch & co-work block
1:00 PM | Digital privacy, surveillance & censorship-resistant tech
1:45 PM | Social impact & human rights technologies
2:30 PM | Hackathon Showcase
3:15 PM | Panel: what’s next for ethical tech
4:00 PM | Live demos & research presentations
4:30–7:30 PM | Happy hour · fireside · beer & wine
💻 Work from the Garage on Friday
Normally WFH on Fridays? Come do it here. The Summit doubles as a co-working day at the Microsoft Garage: bring your laptop, get your own work done in a high-energy space, and step into keynotes, panels, and the hackathon showcase whenever you want. It’s a conference and a productive Friday, in one.