Making Sense of AI in 2026: The Social Impacts of AI

BSR Members Only

Webinar

February 26, 2026

11 am - 12 pm EST

AI technologies are having significant impacts on people and societies—impacts which will only increase as AI becomes more sophisticated and mainstreamed into daily life.

These social impacts can be positive and negative. While AI has the potential to help address many societal challenges, it also creates new risks concerning privacy and data protection, bias and discrimination, and disruption of labor markets and working conditions.

The decisions that companies make about the AI technologies that they develop, procure, and deploy are critical to ensuring that the opportunities AI presents are maximized, and the risks avoided and mitigated.

BSR experts from our Responsible Technology team will help you understand the human rights and other social risks posed by AI technologies, and the opportunities to enhance positive social outcomes that they offer.

We'll also explore existing frameworks that companies can use to avoid and mitigate these social risks, and other steps you can take—either alone or in collaboration—to build the systems and processes to ensure a responsible and rights-respecting approach to AI.

This is the last webinar of a three-part series on making sense of artificial intelligence and its implications for business. Missed one of the prior webinars? Members can access webinar recordings in the events archive:

Scheduled Speakers

Hannah Darnton, Director, Responsible Technology, BSR

Director, Responsible Technology, BSR

San Francisco

Hannah works with companies that develop and deploy technology to integrate human rights-based approaches into their policies, products, and strategies. She specializes in conducting human rights due diligence on emerging technologies, such as generative AI, affective tech, facial recognition, and surveillance, and in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to children in digital environments.

She has worked extensively with companies to prepare for and comply with human rights-related regulatory requirements in alignment with the OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This includes conducting and reviewing risk assessments under the EU Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act, as well as preparing for forthcoming obligations under the EU AI Act, CSDDD, and CSRD.

Prior to joining BSR, Hannah worked at the Skoll Foundation and spent several years working in anti-human trafficking.

Hannah holds a Master’s in NGOs and Development with a specialization in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of Michigan.

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Full Bio

Richard Wingfield, Director, Technology Sectors, BSR

Director, Technology Sectors, BSR

London

Richard works with tech companies—particularly those based in or with operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—to build human rights considerations and practices into their products, services, and policies. He brings a strong understanding of international human rights law and standards and how to translate the corporate responsibility to respect human rights into practice for companies of different sizes and sectors.

Prior to joining BSR, Richard led the legal and policy team at Global Partners Digital, an international human rights organization focused on the impacts of digital technologies on human rights. He is also a trustee of the Kaleidoscope Trust, a UK-based charity that campaigns for the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people in countries where they are discriminated.

Richard holds a LLB in Law and European Law from the University of Nottingham and is a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.