Var Shankar

AI Governance, Law & Policy

Var Shankar

Var Shankar advises organizations on AI governance, privacy, and regulatory risk. He leads the Council on AI Governance. Var previously practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and worked on the Clinton Global Initiative. An attorney by background, he is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

OECD Network of Experts on AI WEF AI Governance Alliance Brookings Forum for Cooperation on AI

Featured Talks

New York City Bar Association

Keynote on AI in Clinical Care

October 16, 2025

Discussing the applications and governance challenges of AI systems in clinical healthcare settings.

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IAPP Global Privacy Summit

Security Implications of Foundation Models

April 23, 2025

Exploring existing and emerging security risks posed by frontier models.

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World Bank

AI Governance in International Finance

October 30, 2024

Discussing regulatory and technical developments in AI and their implications for global economies.

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Harvard Business School

Realizing AI's Potential in Healthcare

November 15, 2023

Discussing how AI can transform healthcare delivery while maintaining ethical standards and patient safety.

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Financial Times Live

AI's Role in Achieving Corporate Sustainability Goals

November 2, 2023

Examining how artificial intelligence can accelerate corporate sustainability initiatives and ESG compliance.

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Featured Articles

IAPP

AI Governance in Health Care

September 10, 2025 — with Ashley Casovan

Exploring the unique governance challenges and frameworks for deploying AI responsibly in healthcare settings.

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OECD.AI

When Your AI Knows You Better Than Anyone: Privacy in the Age of Intimate Assistants

August 19, 2025

Examining the profound privacy implications of AI systems that develop deep understanding of individual users.

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AI and Ethics Journal

Context-Specific Certification of AI Systems

April 11, 2025 — with Kendall Brogle, Emma Kallina, Holli Sargeant & others

Proposing a third-party, system-level AI certification framework to bridge regulatory gaps.

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Boston Consulting Group

A Guide to AI Governance for Business Leaders

November 29, 2023 — with Steve Mills and Ashley Casovan

Comprehensive guidance for business leaders on implementing effective AI governance frameworks within their organizations.

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World Economic Forum Agenda

This Underestimated Tool Could Make AI Innovation Safer

August 5, 2022 — with Ashley Casovan

Exploring underutilized approaches that can enhance AI safety while supporting continued innovation.

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Kaggle Course: Intro to AI Ethics

Intro to AI Ethics

A comprehensive course exploring practical tools to guide the moral design of AI systems. Co-taught with Alexis Cook on Kaggle Learn.

Module 1

Introduction to AI Ethics

Learn what to expect from the course and understand the foundational concepts of AI ethics.

Tutorial
Module 2

Human-Centered Design for AI

Design systems that serve people's needs and navigate issues in several real-world scenarios.

Tutorial Exercise
Module 3

Identifying Bias in AI

Understand how bias can creep in at any stage. Investigate a simple model that identifies toxic text.

Tutorial Exercise
Module 4

AI Fairness

Learn about four different types of fairness and assess a model trained to judge credit card applications.

Tutorial Exercise
Module 5

Model Cards

Increase transparency by communicating key information about machine learning models effectively.

Tutorial Exercise