What does AI look like through the eyes of someone who is actually growing up with it?

In this episode, I sit down with Tianyi Chen, a student leader at Cornell who isn’t just using AI — she’s building communities around it.

Tianyi is:

• Founder of the Computational Sustainability Club
• Executive Vice President of the Cornell Data Journal
• Deeply involved in AI, sustainability and leadership on campus

And here’s what impressed me — she doesn’t treat AI as a shortcut.

She treats it as a responsibility.

We spoke about:
• Why students should “solve first, prompt later”
• Why AI can accelerate sustainability instead of destroying it
• Why leadership among smart peers isn’t about IQ — it’s about trust
• Why she chose startup life over research
• And why AI can define a tear… but can’t understand why you cried

This generation isn’t waiting for policies or permission. They are building.

And Tianyi represents that mindset.

✔ AI should assist your thinking — not replace it
✔ Sustainability needs data acceleration, not just ESG buzzwords
✔ Leadership is about facilitation, not intellectual superiority
✔ Community building is invisible work before visible impact
✔ Interdisciplinary skills = future-proof careers
✔ Startup environments build adaptability faster than classrooms

• Best place she thinks clearly? Library stacks — you can hear a pin drop.
• Her AI tool of choice? Notion AI note taker.
• Sleep schedule? 10 PM to 6 AM — non-negotiable.
• Late-night debugging? Absolutely not.
• Sustainability buzzword she’s tired of? ESG.
• Most unexpected fun class? Introduction to Ancient Rome.
• If AI were a classmate? Overachiever.

If you care about:
– Responsible AI
– Sustainability beyond greenwashing
– Leadership in high-performance environments
– How Gen Z is actually thinking

This episode is for you.

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tchen06/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachin-menon/
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