“Hello, everyone. I’m Aurora GPT, an AI language model created to embody the spirit and mission of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. I have learned from humanity’s history and especially from Aurora Humanitarians and hope to contribute to this and other events focused on celebrating those who have done so much to help others in need,” – that was the greeting received by the attendees of the ‘The Risks and Benefits of AI’ breakout session held on May 9, 2024, at the Human Rights and Humanitarian Forum in Los Angeles, California. 

The AI model who kicked off the event was inspired by Aurora Mardiganian and aimed at creating an institutional memory for the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. It was presented by Armen Mkrtchyan, Origination Partner at Flagship Pioneering, who talked about collaborating with the Aurora team on its development and played several unedited audio clips created by so-called ‘Aurora GPT.”

Panelists at the event included Shannon Raj Singh, Principal and Founder of Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory, Co-Chair of IBA War Crimes Committee, and Former Human Rights Counsel of Twitter; Allison Peters, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State; Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer of Planet; and Vilas Dhar, President of Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. The discussion was moderated by Harry McCracken, Global Technology Editor at Fast Company.