Clarkson professor advances practical ethical AI tools for sustainable startups

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As startups and small firms increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to drive growth, a Clarkson University professor is helping develop practical approaches to ensure those technologies are used responsibly while advancing environmental and social sustainability.

Christian Felzensztein, Reh Family Chair in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clarkson, is a co-lead investigator on a new international research project focused on ethical AI governance in startups and small firms. The work centers on how entrepreneurs can realistically adopt AI tools that support innovation while meeting ethical and sustainability goals.

"Despite growing attention to AI ethics, significant gaps remain in the startup and small-firm context," Felzensztein said. "This project will study how ethical AI governance can directly improve environmental and social sustainability outcomes in small firms, while identifying sector-specific challenges and best practices for responsible AI adoption."

The research project, titled Ethical AI Governance for Sustainable Innovation in Startups and Small Firms, will examine AI use in sectors including clean technology, agritech and fintech. It will also explore how small firms can adopt transparency and accountability frameworks that are feasible within entrepreneurial settings.

The project is led by Afsaneh Bagheri of the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, with Felzensztein serving as the international partner and co-lead from Clarkson. The collaboration brings together researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom to compare ethical AI governance models across different regulatory environments.

"By leveraging UK-U.S. collaboration, the project aims to foster a globally relevant approach to sustainable innovation that reflects real-world regulatory and market constraints," Felzensztein said.

The project is supported by a collaborative international research grant from the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities and the UK Innovation Research Council.