About
 

R. David Edelman

Director, Project on Technology, the Economy, & National Security

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Big Data Cryptography Cybersecurity Human-Computer Interaction Machine Learning Privacy Trustworthy Computing

David Edelman helps lead the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative, where he is Director of its Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security, and he holds joint appointments in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab and the Center for International Studies.  His research interests focus on the domestic and international governance of digital systems, with particular emphasis on trustworthy machine learning, AI policy, cybersecurity, and technology trade.

Edelman came to MIT following a decade of service in senior economic and national security roles in the U.S. federal government.  Until January 2017, he served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy at the National Economic Council and the Office of Science & Technology Policy.  Previously, he served as the first director for International Cyber Policy on the National Security Council , and began his career on the founding team of 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 widely in print and in broadcast. He earned a BA from Yale, and an MS and a PhD from Oxford, where he was a Clarendon Scholar.  His forthcoming book on restraining state use of cyberattacks will be published by Oxford University Press.

Publications

Edelman, R. D. (2020, January 13). Here’s how to regulate artificial intelligence properly. The Washington Post.

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