Alessandro Balzi

Stanford MSx student Alessandro Balzi’s career pivot came five years ago after meeting the Peruvian human rights lawyer who eventually became his wife.

“Josefina asked me a very powerful question: What do you want your legacy to be?” recalls Balzi, who back then was an applied AI manager at Deloitte. “I realized I want to be a person who fought to make our society a better place. That was life-changing.”

That simple question eventually brought the couple to Stanford — she to the Knight-Hennessey Scholars Program and the International Legal Studies Program at Stanford Law School, and Balzi to Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he’s developing AI tools to help media consumers distinguish credible information from disinformation.

How did you feel you could benefit by earning an MSx degree from Stanford GSB?

I had been working in consulting at Deloitte, and I got to a point where I wanted to pivot. I wanted to do something entrepreneurial and use my AI skills. I decided to pursue a degree at Stanford so I could get the skills and knowledge to make a positive impact on the world. The AI ecosystem made the program a natural fit for me.

You came to Stanford GSB intending to learn how to launch a venture leveraging AI to address societal issues, particularly in advancing human rights. Has that goal evolved since you began the program?

I’m still in the exploration phase, but what hasn’t changed is my commitment to use responsible and safe AI to generate that impact. The GSB is helping me learn about entrepreneurship and the steps to success. Whether it’s starting a new venture or joining a company, I’ll definitely advance my career in AI.

What’s the main problem you want to solve once you graduate?

I’m looking at how we can use AI to combat disinformation and think more critically about information we see online. Instead of AI thinking for us, could we use it to enrich our critical thinking? Also, how do you make sure we understand how these AI systems make decisions? At the moment they’re just big black boxes and no one knows what’s really happening inside them. If we can’t understand how they make decisions, we can’t explain their decisions. This idea of interpreting and explaining an AI system is something I’m passionate about.

Do you feel AI is making the disinformation problem better or worse?

It’s impeding people from making good decisions about important issues. It’s difficult to know what’s true or false, and that’s the basis for making good decisions. Think about the Covid-19 pandemic with all of the disinformation that spread about vaccines. That made it difficult for people to decide whether or not to get vaccinated.

There’s also the problem of polarization. Whenever you see news that’s not real, it tends to propagate a specific narrative, much like propaganda. That polarization results in you living in your bubble and processing information that only serves your own bias. That’s partly why we’re living in a polarized society.

While AI is creating some harm, it also has the potential to be a great catalyst for society. The most talented AI engineers want to build unicorns, and they’re focused on building profitable companies and on automating business operations. But we need more AI talent working on solving societal challenges and advancing human rights. AI is so powerful and important; I want to help make sure we use it responsibly and safely.

Are there ways an average media consumer can combat the negative impacts of AI?

There are, but those ways are not easy. The first problem is that the average media consumer processes information quickly without thinking about what they’re seeing. The second challenge is convincing people to cross-check. People can do that, but it’s time-consuming. I’m researching how to contextualize information better and make that context available quickly so users don’t have to do the extra step of cross-checking. I’m working on that problem with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

What has been your most impactful course so far at the GSB?

I’m taking a course called Acting with Power, and it challenges you to rethink the notion of power. When we think of power, we think of somebody strong and maybe a bit of a jerk. But the course teaches you about power in a different way and how to project your power. That was a new concept to me. It’s very challenging, but I’m loving getting out of my comfort zone.

Any experiences outside Stanford GSB classrooms that will be valuable as you move into the next phase of your career?

It’s been an incredible experience to get to know my cohort. I love learning about different cultures and perspectives, and my international classmates have taught me so much. This diversity in worldviews will enrich any endeavor I choose to pursue next.

What do you want to be known for by your classmates after you leave the GSB?

I want to be known as the person who focused on AI for social impact and to make the world a better place. On the personal side, I’d like to be remembered as a good person who wants to help others and does the extra work to be a good friend.

In your spare time, you’re a film enthusiast. What movie will you watch anytime, anywhere, and why?

“Do the Right Thing” by Spike Lee. It’s personal for me because we used to live in Bed-Stuy in New York, just a couple of blocks from where the movie was set. It makes you reflect on the fact that the world is not black and white, and how difficult it is to know the right thing. That’s a topic we’ve discussed in some of our leadership classes at the GSB.

Photos by Elena Zhukova