AI and Our Better Angels A Fireside Chat with Professor Harry West

What does it take to turn a great idea into something that changes the way millions of people live—and what role will artificial intelligence play in shaping what comes next?

Join the Columbia University Club of New York for a fireside conversation with Professor Harry West—engineer, entrepreneur, design leader, and Columbia educator—whose career has spanned academia, global innovation, and the creation of some of the world’s most recognizable consumer products.

Professor West’s work has contributed to breakthrough innovations including Swiffer and ThermaCare. His career has taken him from MIT, where he taught engineering design and kinematics, to leadership roles at some of the world’s foremost design and strategy firms. He has served as CEO of Continuum and frog and as a Senior Partner at Prophet, working with organizations including P&G, BMW, American Express, Fidelity, and Motorola.

Today at Columbia, Professor West brings decades of real-world experience into the classroom, helping the next generation of entrepreneurs understand how ideas become products, products become businesses, and why some innovations succeed while others never make it beyond the drawing board.

A recipient of the Society of Columbia Graduates Great Teacher Award, Professor West is known for making complex ideas engaging, practical, and accessible.

In this fireside conversation, we’ll explore innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, leadership, and AI, including how emerging technologies might be designed and used in ways that bring out the best in human judgment, creativity, and values.

We’ll also consider the essential question at the heart of every new venture: What separates a clever idea from one that actually succeeds?

Moderated by Michael McCarthy C ’83, Member of the Board of the Society of Columbia Graduates.