Muhammad Salar Khan

Assistant Professor

Department of Public Policy

College of Liberal Arts

mskgpt@rit.edu

Office Location

EAS-1309

Muhammad Salar Khan

Assistant Professor

Department of Public Policy

College of Liberal Arts

Bio

Muhammad Salar Khan is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology. As an interdisciplinary scholar in science and technology policy, his research focuses on AI ethics and policy, clean energy transition, public interest technology, public health, and interaction between innovation and macroeconomic development in developing economies. He actively examines the role of policy in fostering responsible AI adoption, particularly within the public sector, and addresses issues related to AI equity, AI adoption in developing economies, and the explainability of AI and robotics, all while analyzing the ethical and economic implications of AI.

Previously, Dr. Khan was a Don E. Kash Postdoctoral Fellow in Science and Technology Policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, where he also completed his PhD in Public Policy. His dissertation analyzed the link between innovation and economic development in a comparative context. He also holds a master’s degree in Public Policy (Economic Policy) as a Fulbright Scholar from Oregon State University.

Dr. Khan contributed to a Department of Defense (DoD) grant, led by PI Dr. James L. Olds at George Mason University, through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), for the project “Ideas Lab for Imagining Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Cognition in the USAF of 2030.” His research has been supported by this and other initiatives, and his work has appeared in esteemed journals such as Government Information Quarterly, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, AI & Ethics, IEEE Technology and Society, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of International Tax and Public Finance, and Structural Change and Economic Dynamics. He also contributes to popular outlets like The Diplomat, The National Interest, and The Conversation.

Dr. Khan actively engages with the academic and policy communities. You can follow him on X @salarppolicy and connect with him on LinkedIn.

mskgpt@rit.edu

Personal Links

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Currently Teaching

PUBL-201

Ethics, Values & Public Policy

3 Credits

This course focuses on the connections and interplay between personal and social values, ethics, and public policy. It explores how values and norms influence public policies and how the resulting expressions of values through public policies impact the implementation and effectiveness of policy choices. It also delves into how different countries make widely different policy choices based on their citizens’ values and social norms. The course also considers how new developments in science and technology influence the interplay between values, ethics, and policy across multiple issues. In addition, this course explores how to formulate values-based explanations of certain public policy preferences. Topics range across the policy issue spectrum.

PUBL-302

Decision Analysis

3 Credits

This course provides students with an introduction to decision science and analysis. The course focuses on several important tools for making good decisions, including forecasting, risk analysis, and multi-attribute decision making. Students will apply these tools to contemporary public policy decision making at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

PUBL-785

Capstone Experience

1 - 6 Credits

The Public Policy Capstone Experience serves as a culminating experience for those MS in Science, Technology and Public Policy students who chose this option in the Public Policy Department. Over the course of the semester, students will have the opportunity to investigate and address contemporary topics in science and technology policy using analytic skills and theoretical knowledge learned over the course of their MS degree.