Full Name
Dr. R. David Edelman
Job Title
Director, Internet Policy Research Initiative
Company
MIT
Brief Biography
Dr. R. David Edelman is Director of the Project on Technology, the Economy, & National Security (TENS), part of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI). He holds joint appointments in the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Center for International Studies (CIS).
At MIT, David leads IPRI’s AI policy research, with a particular emphasis on domestic and international governance of machine learning systems and is the lead organizer of the annual MIT AI Policy Congress.
David came to MIT following a distinguished career managing international and domestic technology policy in the U.S. federal government. Until January 2017, David served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy at the National Economic Council (NEC) and the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP).
From 2010 – 2012 David served as the first Director for International Cyber Policy on the National Security Council (NSC) — making him, upon appointment, the youngest Director in the NSC’s seventy-year history. Previously, he helped found the State Department’s Office of Cyber Affairs, where he developed the U.S. government’s early diplomatic strategy and international legal doctrine on cyber issues. During this time, he also served as the United States’ lead negotiator on Internet issues at the United Nations, for which he was recognized with the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and twice its Meritorious Honor Award.
His insights and analysis have appeared in print in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, WIRED, Fast Company, and Fortune, and in broadcast on CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, MSNBC, and NPR.
Dr. David Edelman holds a B.A. from Yale University in History, and a Master’s and Doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University, where he was a Clarendon Scholar.
At MIT, David leads IPRI’s AI policy research, with a particular emphasis on domestic and international governance of machine learning systems and is the lead organizer of the annual MIT AI Policy Congress.
David came to MIT following a distinguished career managing international and domestic technology policy in the U.S. federal government. Until January 2017, David served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy at the National Economic Council (NEC) and the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP).
From 2010 – 2012 David served as the first Director for International Cyber Policy on the National Security Council (NSC) — making him, upon appointment, the youngest Director in the NSC’s seventy-year history. Previously, he helped found the State Department’s Office of Cyber Affairs, where he developed the U.S. government’s early diplomatic strategy and international legal doctrine on cyber issues. During this time, he also served as the United States’ lead negotiator on Internet issues at the United Nations, for which he was recognized with the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and twice its Meritorious Honor Award.
His insights and analysis have appeared in print in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, WIRED, Fast Company, and Fortune, and in broadcast on CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, MSNBC, and NPR.
Dr. David Edelman holds a B.A. from Yale University in History, and a Master’s and Doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University, where he was a Clarendon Scholar.
