NYU Courant
Gordon Dai smiling in a red shirt

Gordon Dai 戴天奇

Ph.D. Student in Computer Science

Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science
New York University

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science, New York University — in progress

BA in Philosophy and BA in Mathematics, New York University, May 2026

Areas of Research/Interest

machine learning theory, computational political theory, social computing and responsible AI, dynamical system learning.

Biography

Hi there, I’m a doctoral student at NYU Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science, where I pursue a PhD in Computer Science under the supervision of Prof. Joan Bruna and Prof. Hua Shen. Prior to my PhD studies, I received my BA in Philosophy and BA in Mathematics at NYU in May 2026. I’m a native of Xicheng, Beijing and received my high school degree from 北京四中 (BHSF).

I’m interested in all sorts of theories that concern our techno-social realities—in particular machine learning theory, computational political theory, and the theoretical foundation of social computing and responsible AI. More recently, I’m thinking about the theoretical foundation of dynamical system learning and “World Models.”

To solve those that can be solved, to appeal for those that can be appealed for, and to empathize with all the remaining.

Books

人、伦理、机器人：一本孩子写给孩子的书
Humans, Ethics, Robots: A Book Written by Children for Children

Peking University Press, 2023

Co-authored by Gordon Dai, Yiran Dong, Qiyu Fu, Zihan Jiang, Beier Li, Kangping Li, Wangjie Li, Yaxuan Li, Mengjian Lu, Chutian Mao, Xinran Mao, Xuanhui Mao, Yitong Mao, Maoxuan Shan, Zichen Shen, Xuanyi Wang, Haizhong Wen, Jiaqian Yuan, Tianren Zhang, Yizhuo Zhao, Ai Zhong, Yukun Zhou, and Siqing Zuo.

Authors listed alphabetically by surname.

Cover of 人、伦理、机器人：一本孩子写给孩子的书 (Humans, Ethics, Robots: A Book Written by Children for Children)

Publications

2026

AI Welfare is Bullshit

Yunze Xiao*, Gordon Dai*, Shahan Ali Memon*, Jen-Tse Huang, Maarten Sap, Mona Diab

International Conference on Machine Learning · ICML ’26

Conference paper · Position paper

Paper (PDF)Proceedings

* Equal contribution.

Under Review

Some Big-Picture Problems that I'm Interested in

  1. How do formal, representational systems—for example mathematical theorems, technical artifacts, and statistics—interplay with non-formal, complex systems such as mind, human values, and social politics, specifically in the case of AI?
  2. How can existing philosophical, political, and social theory be applied to contextualize and prescribe AI, and how could a new social reality shaped by AI provide the basis for new philosophical, social, and political theories?
  3. The history and philosophy of technology.

What I'm Currently Working On

Theoretical Foundations of JEPA-like World-Action Models

What can we provably say about its training and planning capabilities?

Towards a Unifying Framework of Agentic Learning and Decision-Making

Other Interests

What I'm also interested in:

  • The subsequence of neoliberalism;
  • The history of social-intellectual expression of P.R.China since 1978, in particular through the length of music and media;