Writing

Essays, commentary, and analysis

I write about AI governance, institutional design, and the choices that will determine whether technological progress serves public purpose. My work has appeared in TIME, Nature, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more than 40 other publications.

Browse by theme or year below, or use the search to find specific topics.

44 pieces of writing

2025
The U.N.'s AI Turning Point

The United Nations has a narrow window to shape the governance of AI before the technology outpaces the institutions designed to govern it.

TIMEWho governs AI?
The $900 Billion Question: Redistributing Control of AI Development

The concentration of AI development in a handful of companies is not inevitable. It is a policy choice, and it can be reversed.

Institut MontaigneWho governs AI? · Who builds institutions?
Designing Capability: Institutions and the Future of Emerging Compute

The countries that invest in governance alongside compute capacity will shape the terms of AI development for everyone else.

Frontiers Policy LabsWho governs AI? · Who builds institutions?
Why Cities Must Build, Not Buy, the Infrastructure of Intelligence

Cities that outsource their AI infrastructure to private vendors are not governing. They are accepting terms set by others.

OECDWho governs AI?
5 Questions for Vilas Dhar

On AI governance, the UN's role, and what philanthropy owes the public interest in the age of generative AI.

PoliticoWho governs AI?
AI Might Run the Business, but You Can't Automate a Board

AI can optimize operations, but fiduciary responsibility, and the judgment it requires, cannot be automated.

Financial TimesWho governs AI?
Could AI Lift Up Workers in an Unsung Profession?

with Jade Lin

Co-authored with Jade Lin. AI has the potential to transform home care, one of the most undervalued professions in America, if we build it right.

US News & World ReportWho benefits from AI?
India's IPL Moment in AI: A Bid for Global Leadership

India's digital public goods approach offers a model for AI governance that the rest of the world should study.

Indian ExpressWho governs AI?
AI's Development Still Depends on All of Us

The choices being made right now about AI governance will determine whether this technology serves the public or concentrates power.

Boston GlobeWho governs AI? · Who builds institutions?
How China's AI Breakthrough Could Make Technology More Democratic

DeepSeek's emergence challenges the assumption that AI leadership requires massive concentrated capital. That's good news for everyone.

US News & World ReportWho governs AI? · Who benefits from AI?
Health Systems Are Betting Big on AI. Are Boards Ready?

Health system boards face a governance challenge unlike any they've encountered: AI systems making consequential decisions faster than oversight can follow.

NACD DirectorshipWho builds institutions?
What the World Can Learn from India's Inclusive AI Journey

India's approach to AI, building public digital infrastructure rather than relying on private platforms, offers lessons for every country.

World Economic ForumWho governs AI? · Who benefits from AI?
2024
Will 2024 Be the Year of Responsible AI?

with Yolanda Botti-Lodovico

The window for building responsible AI governance is open, but it will not stay open indefinitely. 2024 is a pivotal year for the choices that will define the next decade.

Project SyndicateWho governs AI? · Who builds institutions?
US News & World ReportWho benefits from AI?
Stanford Social Innovation ReviewWho builds institutions?
Fidelity CharitableWho builds institutions?
2023
Schools Shouldn't Ban Access to ChatGPT

Banning AI tools from schools does not protect students. It leaves them unprepared for a world where AI is infrastructure. The answer is design, not prohibition.

TIMEWho benefits from AI?
Center for Effective PhilanthropyWho builds institutions?
The HillWho governs AI?
2022
Illinois StorytellersWho benefits from AI?
2021
Project SyndicateWho benefits from AI?
Chronicle of Philanthropy / WEF AgendaWho builds institutions?
Thomson Reuters FoundationWho benefits from AI?
2020
Coronavirus: Time to Re-imagine Academic Publishing

The pandemic exposed the structural failures of academic publishing. The crisis is an opportunity to build something better.

NatureWho builds institutions?
Stanford Social Innovation ReviewWho builds institutions?
2019
Project Syndicate / WEF AgendaWho benefits from AI?