Boston Global Forum Conference on AIWS Digital Asset Standard Initiative (AIWS-DASI) Harvard University Loeb House — November 4, 2025
At the Boston Global Forum’s 2025 AIWS-DASI Conference, Professor Nazli Choucri of MIT delivered a compelling and intellectually rigorous address, outlining three enduring challenges that will shape the future of AI governance, digital security, and global political stability.
Her remarks provided a clear scholarly framework for the dilemmas facing governments, institutions, and societies as AI becomes increasingly embedded in daily life and global systems.
1. Two Sides of Governance: “AI for Governance” vs. “Governance of AI”
Professor Choucri opened by distinguishing two fundamentally different concepts:
AI for Governance
AI is already deeply woven into government operations, regulatory frameworks, administrative service delivery, and interactions between citizens and the state. This is progressing rapidly and, in many ways, effectively.
Governance of AI
This, she warned, is far more challenging.
While there is widespread agreement that AI requires guardrails, the how, what, and who remain contested:
Tension between public and private sectors
Differences in state vs. big-tech priorities
Lack of shared frameworks for ethical, legal, and operational oversight
But the “elephant in the room,” she stressed, is cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity and AI — A Dangerous Asymmetry
While AI can improve cybersecurity, society has far less understanding of how cyber threats can compromise AI itself.
This reverse dependency — cyber vulnerabilities impacting AI — remains under-analyzed and under-addressed.
Professor Choucri emphasized that future AI governance must confront this asymmetry directly, as cyber threats will increasingly shape global power and national resilience.
2. The Human Element: Understanding Harms and Maliciousness
Her second major point addressed the role of human behavior in the risks associated with AI.
Drawing on recent MIT research on digital harms, Professor Choucri expressed surprise at one finding:
Human maliciousness, while real, is not the dominant force of harm
System-generated representations of human behavior
The implication is profound: AI systems themselves can propagate distortions, harms, or bias at a scale far beyond what any individual bad actor could achieve.
This raises essential questions for:
Governance
Accountability
Insurance and liability
Protection of fundamental values
The future of digital public infrastructure
3. The Alignment Problem: Beyond Ethics to Intention
Professor Choucri’s third point focused on alignment — perhaps the most complex challenge in modern AI.
She noted:
Ethics is important, but ethics alone is insufficient.
The central issue is aligning AI systems with human intention.
To date, this gap remains the “soft spot” of AI development. Despite advances, society still struggles to ensure that AI reliably understands, respects, and executes human goals.
If alignment were achieved, Professor Choucri argued,
“a major dilemma would be lifted,” bringing AI closer to a trustworthy partner for governance, society, and global cooperation.
4. The Biggest Challenge Ahead: AI Geopolitics
Professor Choucri concluded with a political scientist’s long view:
“One of the greatest dilemmas now is AI geopolitics.”
Although she did not elaborate fully in this setting, she hinted that AI geopolitics will shape:
Global power competition
National strategy
Cyber conflict
Governance norms
The stability or fragmentation of the international system
She noted that future discussions must explore how these geopolitical dynamics intersect with — or potentially undermine — the goals outlined earlier by Boston Global Forum and Nguyen Anh Tuan during the conference.
A Strategic, Thought-Provoking Contribution
Professor Choucri’s remarks offered the BGF–AIWS Family a critical intellectual roadmap for the years ahead.
Her analysis reinforced the urgency of:
Strengthening AI governance structures
Addressing cybersecurity dependencies
Understanding human and systemic harms
Advancing alignment research
Recognizing the geopolitical stakes of AI development
Her talk stood as one of the conference’s most rigorous and forward-looking contributions, guiding the work of the AIWS Digital Asset Standards Initiative (AIWS-DASI) and the broader mission of ethical and human-centered AI development.
Redefining Trust in the Digital Age: Tarun Khanna Speaks at the AIWS-DASI Conference
Harvard University Loeb House — November 4, 2025
At the Boston Global Forum’s AIWS Digital Asset Standards Initiative (AIWS-DASI) Conference, Professor Tarun Khanna of Harvard Business School delivered a compelling and deeply insightful talk on the future of trust, ethics, and financial inclusion in the digital age. His remarks offered a grounded, global perspective on how societies can navigate digital transformation responsibly—particularly through lessons from India, China, and the United States.
Khanna began by bringing the audience “back to basics,” reminding participants that trust in finance fundamentally requires only two elements:
Knowing precisely who you are transacting with, and
Having a clear mechanism for redress when disputes arise.
From this foundation, he explored how the world’s most populous nations are reinventing financial trust through digital public infrastructure.
China and the United States: Parallel Models of Tech Power
Khanna highlighted the similarities between China’s digital ecosystem—dominated by Alibaba and Tencent under state supervision—and the U.S. ecosystem shaped by Meta, Google, and Amazon, with American regulators increasingly scrutinizing corporate influence. Both cases reflect a “public-private tension” over who controls the digital interface with citizens.
India’s Distinct and Transformative Model
What sets India apart, he argued, is its revolutionary approach: Digital infrastructure as a public good, not a privately controlled asset.
India’s India Stack—a country-level digital infrastructure built on open, public access protocols—has delivered unprecedented outcomes:
Eliminated vast fraud through universal biometric identity
Reduced financial transaction costs to near zero, the lowest globally
Enabled millions previously excluded to participate in the formal financial system
Provided a model now being adopted by several countries worldwide
Khanna emphasized that this transformation represents a leapfrogging of digital capability unmatched by any other nation.
Relevance to AIWS-DASI
Returning to the theme of the conference, Khanna noted that ethical digital asset standards cannot succeed without the foundational pillars of identity, authentication, and trust. India’s success demonstrates that infrastructure designed with integrity can eliminate corruption, reduce friction, and ensure fairness at massive scale.
A Call to Return to First Principles
As the world becomes increasingly captivated by tokenization, crypto jargon, and complex AI systems, Khanna urged the audience to stay grounded:
“All you need is information sanctity and contract sanctity. Everything else becomes hopeless if you cannot verify your transacting partner.”
He reminded participants that digital transformation—especially in finance—must always return to the basics of authentic identity, transparent exchange, and human empowerment.
A Timely Contribution to AIWS-DASI
Professor Khanna’s talk provided a powerful intellectual anchor for the AIWS-DASI Conference, aligning perfectly with its mission to build ethical, transparent, and trust-centered foundations for the digital economy of the AI Age.
His insights underscored why AIWS-DASI must look beyond technology hype and instead focus on structural reforms, human-centered design, and the public good—values that will shape the next generation of global digital governance.
AIWS Digital Asset Standards Initiative (AIWS-DASI)
Harvard University – Loeb House, November 4, 2025
1. AI Must Extend Law and Ethics — Not Just Maximize Productivity
In his remarks, Professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland emphasized that AI development should not focus solely on efficiency or replacing human labor. Instead, AI must:
Extend and reinforce legal and ethical principles
Improve overall societal performance, not just economic output
Support human coordination and trust
This aligns closely with the foundations of AIWS and its mission of building ethical, human-centered AI governance.
2. AI as a Mediator: Enhancing Human Collaboration
Pentland presented an AI system his team built that is already used by cities and schools. Its core functions:
Listens to group conversations
Summarizes perspectives fairly
Highlights alignment and differences
Helps people find common ground
Does not contribute opinions or facts, only facilitates
The results are remarkable:
Groups reach agreement twice as effectively
Discussions become more inclusive, faster, and less conflict-driven
This demonstrates that AI can empower human dialogue, not replace it — reinforcing AIWS principles of AI as a “trusted assistant” to society.
3. Real Impact: Washington D.C. Participation Project
In Washington D.C., the team used AI mediation to involve residents who normally lack time to engage in civic processes. The findings surprised city officials:
Citizens overwhelmingly said they want:
A Personal AI Agent to Navigate Government Complexity
Such an AI would help citizens:
Understand rules and procedures
Access services fairly
Engage government on equal footing
This insight aligns with AIWS Government 24/7, where AI helps citizens—not bureaucracies—be more empowered.
4. The Future: AI with a Legal “Duty of Loyalty”
Pentland underlined a critical principle:
Personal AI must have a fiduciary duty to its user.
This means:
AI must serve your interests, not corporate or government interests
AI must respect privacy, autonomy, and ethics
AI providers must be legally accountable
He is working with:
Stanford Law School
Consumer Reports
Legal and policy bodies in California
to create industry-wide standards for legally loyal AI agents. This complements AIWS-DASI’s vision of trusted AI and ethical digital assets.
5. Open, Public Infrastructure for AI Empowerment
Pentland stressed:
All code and research are open-source
The system is provided as a public service
AI infrastructure must be transparent and accessible
This directly supports AIWS-DASI’s commitment to openness, integrity, and public benefit.
6. Book Shared Wisdom — A Vision for AI and Society
His new book, released November 11, explores:
AI-enabled collective intelligence
Implications for governance, bureaucracy, and law
How AI can strengthen democratic processes
This thinking aligns deeply with BGF and AIWS’s mission to build a civilization of shared wisdom, peace, and human dignity in the AI Age.
Overall Message
In his remarks at the AIWS-DASI Conference at Harvard Loeb House, Alex Pentland presented a compelling vision:
AI should be a mediator, a loyal representative, and an enabler of societal harmony — not a force for control or replacement.
His approach reinforces the AIWS belief that:
AI must serve human values
Trust and law must guide digital transformation
AI can strengthen democracy, collaboration, and human creativity
These ideas provide a powerful intellectual foundation for AIWS-DASI and the broader mission of the Boston Global Forum.
The Boston Global Forum – AIWS Family proudly congratulates E. Glen Weyl, distinguished thinker, Microsoft leader, and active member of the BGF–AIWS Family, on being honored with the 2025 IRF Peace Builder Award. The award was presented in Prague on November 12, 2025, during an invitation-only ceremony at the Czech National Museum, as part of the High-Level Conference of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA).
According to the official award notification, the IRF Secretariat recognized Glen Weyl and Benjamin Olsen for their leadership in establishing the groundbreaking Technology for Religious Empowerment (T4RE) Initiative, which sets a new standard for how technology can strengthen understanding, dignity, and collaboration among global faith communities.
The IRF Secretariat emphasized that, at a time when advanced technologies such as generative and agentic AI are transforming society, Glen Weyl’s commitment to ethical innovation and multi-faith engagement represents “a model for other corporations and one that we hope soon sets an industry standard.”
This prestigious award celebrates leaders whose work advances the universal principles of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion — values enshrined in Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Article 18 Alliance and its renewed dedication to peace and human dignity.
The Boston Global Forum – AIWS Family is proud to celebrate Glen Weyl’s achievement, which embodies the core AIWS principles of ethical innovation, enlightenment, and human-centered progress. His contributions continue to inspire global efforts to ensure technology advances peace, respect, and shared humanity.
Here is Glen Weyl’s video at the BGF Conference November 3, 2025: Why Silicon Valley Needs to Get Religion
Dear Your Excellency Governor Michael Dukakis, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Distinguished Leaders and Professors,
I accept this honor from the Boston Global Forum for World Leaders, Spirit and Peace and Security.
And I dedicate this honor to all the volunteers who have been tirelessly working for peace of various NGOs around the world.
The root cause of conflicts had to be dipped at the very bud. And for this peace education, I feel, is very essential.
And inspiration through the form like Boston Global Forum, which upholds the moral, spiritual, and ethics of human existence place a very important role. Peace cannot come just by words.
It has to translate into action. Where there is conflict, we need mediators who can build the bridges.
And people, if you have to build bridges, they have to be free from any type of agenda or bias. Just compassion and clarity in action will make the way for it.
A moral and spiritual force is essential to quell the distress and mistrust that our society has formed over the years.
I’m glad that artificial intelligence world society is joining hands in this you know very noble cause to bring peace a living reality.
The purpose of technology is to bring comfort. And we have to question ourselves. In this age, are there enough comfort? Yes, physical comfort is there. But mental health crisis have skyrocketed. One of the biggest challenges today we have mental health issues. Whether it is in the school, in school districts or the college campuses, at the prison, at home, everywhere in the world, depression and mental health issues, suicide issues are rising. So it’s very important to bring peace to the doors of people. Darkness cannot come to light but light has to go to the dark where there is darkness.
And this is an effort that all of us will have to be engaged in making it a reality. So I once again thank the forum for honoring me with this award and I’m sure this form is a theme or goal of one’s life.
In short, I would say let us all dream for a violence -free and stress -free society. A disease -free body, a mind with happiness and joy and a heart full of compassion and resilience and a creativity that brings more joy and happiness in society than destruction.
At the historic Harvard University Faculty Club, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) officially launched the AIWS Esteemed Digital Assets Series of World Leaders, a collection of twelve e-cards designed in BGF’s signature digital art style.
Each digital card honors a world leader whose ideas and actions have profoundly shaped peace, democracy, ethics, and innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The launch took place during the World Leader Spirit Symposium, an annual gathering that brings together distinguished thinkers, innovators, and global leaders to define the moral and spiritual compass of the AI Era — and to honor Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security Award.
The event was attended by Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-founder and Co-chair of the Boston Global Forum; Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation and recipient of the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security Award; along with leading policymakers, scholars, and creative pioneers who are shaping the ethical future of AI.
A Digital Tribute to Global Leadership
The AIWS Esteemed Digital Assets Series features twelve original e-cards representing presidents, prime ministers, and global figures who have advanced humanity through integrity, vision, and compassion.
Each card integrates art, technology, and philosophy — reflecting both the individual leader’s legacy and the shared mission of the AI World Society (AIWS) to build a civilization where AI serves human dignity, truth, and peace.
A Journey from Nha Trang to Boston, from Varanasi to the Grand Canyon – Where Spirit, Nature, and Wisdom Converge in the Age of AI.
Throughout human history, people have always sought sacred spaces—mountains, rivers, ancient cities, forests, and temples—as places that touch the deepest layers of the soul and spirit. These spaces hold collective memory, inspire transcendence, and connect humans with nature, the divine, and themselves.
In the AI era—where technology surpasses imagination—the great question is: How can artificial intelligence help preserve and elevate our human spirit, rather than disconnect us from it?
AIWS: A New Civilization Uniting Intelligence, Spirituality, and Nature
The Boston Global Forum (BGF), through its AI World Society (AIWS) vision, has created a humanistic model for society in the AI age—one in which humans are not merely technology users, but ethical guides leading AI with compassion, wisdom, and enlightenment.
A key initiative of AIWS is to connect sacred, spiritually rich landmarks—cultural and natural symbols—into a transnational, intergenerational network that forms the “spiritual backbone” of a future society.
As part of this journey, BGF honors Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the great spiritual leader of India, with the World Leader for Peace and Security Award 2025. This milestone marks the beginning of a profound cultural initiative: connecting sacred landmarks—from Varanasi, India’s spiritual capital, to Vietnam’s celebrated sites such as Ha Long Bay (with Yen Tu), Nha Trang (with Po Nagar Cham Towers), Hoi An (with My Son Sanctuary), Dalat (with Langbiang Mountain), and iconic national parks of the United States and the world such as Grand Canyon, Zion, Acadia, Yellowstone—and Boston, the global center of intellectual life.
Nha Trang and Boston: Symbols of East-West, Intelligence and Spirituality
At a special event held at Harvard University in May 2024, Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-Founder of BGF, presented a symbolic gift to Mr. Nguyen Hai Ninh, Secretary of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, and the people of Khanh Hoa: a photograph depicting the Harvard Baker Library alongside Hon Chong Rocks in Nha Trang.
This image represents the friendship and cultural connection between Nha Trang and Boston—two cities geographically distant yet spiritually aligned: lovers of nature, champions of education, and seekers of lasting peace.
More than a gift, the photograph is a symbolic key—unlocking new cultural and spiritual bonds between Vietnam and the United States in the AI era, through film, education, and shared human values. It reflects a relationship forged over time—from war and peace to a comprehensive strategic partnership—and now uplifted to a civilizational level where technology becomes a compassionate companion to humanity.
The Book “30 Years of Vietnam–U.S. Partnership” and AIWS as a “Shared Child”
At the same moment, Professor Thomas Patterson (Harvard Kennedy School) and Nguyen Anh Tuan (Director of BGF) published the commemorative book: “AI World Society: 30 Years of the U.S.–Vietnam Partnership, from Nha Trang to Boston (1995–2025)”.
The book presents AIWS as a “shared child”—born of American intellectual power and Vietnamese aspirations for peace and development. This AI society is not just a place where technology grows, but a space where human values are guided by knowledge, dialogue, and spiritual connectivity among great civilizations.
From Sacredness to Innovation: A Harmonious Development Path
Landmarks like Varanasi (India), Ha Long – Nha Trang – Dalat – Hoi An (Vietnam), and Grand Canyon – Yellowstone – Acadia – Boston (United States) will evolve beyond tourist and academic destinations—they will become spiritual nodes on the AIWS map.
These nodes will host activities like:
AIWS Film Park
AIWS Music for Humanity
AIWS Digital Assets
Educational, artistic, and spiritual dialogue programs
Notably, AI technology itself—through its ability to digitize, analyze, and deeply engage—will amplify and globalize these spiritual values, reaching younger generations and people who may never have imagined experiencing:
a sacred ritual in Varanasi
sunrise over the Po Nagar Towers in Nha Trang
music echoing through Yellowstone
a soul-stirring lecture at Harvard
Building a Humane Society in the Age of AI
From symbolic acts like the Nha Trang–Boston photo, the 30-Year Vietnam–U.S. Partnership book, to honoring Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and linking sacred global sites, BGF and AIWS are lighting a new path:
A path toward an AI World Society with soul, memory, and spiritual depth —where technology serves spiritual awakening, compassion, and lasting peace.
At a historic gathering at the Harvard Faculty Club, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) officially launched the book “The AI World Society: 30 Years of U.S.–Vietnam Partnership, from Nha Trang to Boston (1995–2025)”, co-authored by Professor Thomas Patterson of Harvard Kennedy School and Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of the Boston Global Forum and Director of the Michael Dukakis Institute.
The launch took place during the World Leader Spirit Symposium, where BGF honored Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation, with the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security Award for his extraordinary global leadership in promoting compassion and peace.
Speakers included Professor Thomas Patterson and Nguyen Anh Tuan, who reflected on the enduring friendship and innovation shared between the United States and Vietnam.
Bui Thi Thu Hang, Director of Tri Thuc Publishing House, which released the book, highlighted it as “a bridge of knowledge, humanity, and partnership between two nations.”
Ramu Damodaran, former Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact, praised Nguyen Anh Tuan’s vision: “He has built bridges of intellect and compassion, shaping a new moral foundation for the AI Age.”
The event featured a display of photographs of Governor Michael Dukakis, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and the book, symbolizing unity across leadership, spirituality, and intellect.
The publication marks a milestone in U.S.–Vietnam relations and in the global development of the AI World Society (AIWS) — an ethical framework guiding the integration of AI, democracy, and humanity for a better future.
