AI Dreams & Futures: Gen Z’s Take on Building Ethical AI

In this episode, in partnership with UNESCO #W4EAI, I sit down with young AI innovators Pranav Sridhar, AI engineer at IIT Madras & Sarvam AI, and design experts Anuhya Mahesh and Aditya Sonwane from Srishti School of Art, Design Bangalore. As winners of a hackathon focused on anti-harassment technology, they share their journey of building AI tools that make a real impact, their hopes and concerns for an AI-powered future, and the ethical and environmental challenges they navigate as the next generation of tech creators.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The story behind their winning hackathon project: what it does, why it matters, and how it tackles harassment and bystander behavior.
• Personal reflections from the team on how gender, perspective, and empathy shaped their approach to technology.
• A deep dive into AI’s role in understanding human emotions can machines ever really step into sensitive human spaces?
• Gen Z’s hopes and concerns about an AI-driven future from excitement about innovation to anxieties about jobs, trust, and societal impact.
• Ethical and environmental considerations in AI development, and how young creators navigate these trade-offs.
• A rapid-fire round where the team defines ethical AI, shares lessons learned, and envisions the AI future they want to see for their communities.

Tune in to hear how the next generation is shaping AI not just as engineers or programmers, but as thoughtful, ethical, and deeply human creators.

©️2025 TechThrive Ventures. All rights reserved.

Watch full episode on YouTube 

Newsletter - https://techthrivenewsletter.beehiiv.com/

UNESCO ethical AI recommendations - ⁠https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381137⁠

• Pranav Sridhar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranav-sridhar-b32743258/

• Anuhya Mahesh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuhya-mahesh/

• Aditya Sonwane - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditya-sonwane-85aa3021b/