AI systems are tested and evaluated more e xtensively than ever\, but the effects of AI on humanity are still not full y understood\, while narratives about our future vacillate between apocalyp se and utopia. Researchers are beginning to measure AI’s effects on people\ , and labs are increasingly expected to report on the impact of their own p roducts.
What is missing is a common way to define\, measure\, and ve rify human impact so the findings can be trusted\, whether produced in a la b\, by a company\, or by a public agency. This cross-sector conversation br ings together Dr. Amit Goldenberg\, Associate Professor at Harvard Business School\, whose research examines how AI is shaping emotio n and social connection\; Dr. Avijit Ghosh\, Lead Technica l AI Policy Researcher at Hugging Face\, who works on what current evaluati on methods can and cannot capture\; and Jeff Dunn\, Chief Operating Officer of the Digital Trust Council\, who handles the operationa l reality of being accountable for a product’s impact on millions of lives.
Moderated by Alex Pascal\, Executive Director of th e Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society\, the panel will take up what it would mean to define human impact in terms that hold significance acros s contexts\, what kind of collaboration across research\, industry\, and go vernment that would require\, and how such an approach might inform a stand ard that holds AI to human values.
This panel is a public event withi n the AI Trust Summit\ , co-sponsored with the Digital Trust Council.
CATEGORIES:Discussion LOCATION:Lewis Hall\, 5th floor at the Berkman Klein Center's Multi-Purpose Room 515 GEO:0.000000;0.000000 ORGANIZER;CN="Matt Kristoffersen":MAILTO:mkristoffersen@jd27.law.harvard.ed u URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/measuring-what-matters-underst anding-the-human-impact-of-ai/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://hls.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-21-at-9.05.05-AM-scaled.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20260308T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR