PHOTO ABOVE: 2024 keynote speaker Ilyse Hogue ’91 discusses “Complexity and Curiosity as Building Blocks for a Better World.” Photo by Karl Rabe.

Minerva Tantoco ’86

A leading voice in the AI community, a pioneer in AI and digital mobile technology, and the CEO of City Strategies LLC.

More about Minerva

Humanist Ex Machina: Liberal Arts in the Age of Technology

Friday, January 17 at 5 p.m. in Skinner Hall, Mary Anna Fox Martel Recital Hall

Minerva Tantoco ’86 discusses her career path from philosophy major to technology leader and AI patent holder. This talk explores the essential role of liberal-arts thinking in shaping our technological future, and why a humanistic approach to AI is more relevant than ever. Minerva shares how her philosophy degree became the secret weapon that propelled her to become a technology leader, startup founder, and AI patent holder. Throughout her career, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street to New York City government, Minerva shows how critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and broad-based learning can give you a competitive edge in tech and innovation. In this keynote address, Minerva will discuss how liberal-arts skills such as analyzing complex problems, communicating nuanced ideas, and understanding human contexts are precisely what companies need to navigate our increasingly techno-centric society.

“Humanist Ex Machina” is a twist on the classical literary term “Deus Ex Machina” (literally “god from the machine”), which originally referred to an unexpected power or event that suddenly resolves a seemingly unsolvable problem in a plot in ancient Greek plays.

More about Minerva Tantoco

A leading voice in the AI community and a pioneer in AI and digital mobile technology, Minerva Tantoco (she/her) was appointed New York City’s first-ever Chief Technology Officer. As an early AI practitioner since the 1980s, Minerva holds four U.S. patents on intelligent workflow and founded and built a digital commercial bank—Grasshopper Bank—from scratch. Her senior corporate executive roles included Senior Product Manager at Palm and Chief Technology Officer at Merrill Lynch and UBS. She is a sought-after speaker about AI at major events, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)—the world’s largest tech industry event. Her recent engagements include the Women in AI Summit (New York, November 2024), where other speakers included Chelsea Clinton and Ashley Graham; a keynote presentation at Women & AI: The Future of Work (French-American Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, October 2024); and AI Forum 2024, Constellation Research (Harvard Club, New York, September 23, 2024). In 2024, she was named to Constellation Research’s AI150, an elite list of the top global executives leading AI transformation efforts across the globe.