R. David Edelman

R. David Edelman is a policy scholar at MIT who works on the governance of artificial intelligence and the national security side of technology. In 2010, he became the first Director for International Cyber Policy on the National Security Council, and he went on to serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy until January 2017, co-authoring the nation's first AI policy. After a B.A. at Yale and an Oxford doctorate with a 2013 dissertation on state cyberattacks, he joined MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative in March 2017 to direct its Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security. Oxford University Press released his book Rethinking Cyber Warfare in 2024; he leads the initiative's AI policy research, is lead organizer of the annual MIT AI Policy Congress, and is president of the Institute For Education.

Now at: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute For Education and Brookings Institution
Born: 1985
Works: 13
Citations: 14
h-index: 1
Badges: Founder

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

2010–2012

First NSC cyber policy director

After helping found the State Department's Office of Cyber Affairs, he becomes the first Director for International Cyber Policy on the National Security Council in 2010. He is the youngest Director in the NSC's seventy-year history at the time of his appointment, and the primary author of the United States International Strategy for Cyberspace.
2012–2017

Obama White House technology adviser

In 2012, he becomes Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. He serves until January 2017 as Special Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy at the National Economic Council. His co-authored White House work includes the nation's first AI policy.
2013

An Oxford DPhil on cyberattacks

He holds a B.A. in History from Yale and is a Clarendon Scholar at Oxford, where his 2013 DPhil dissertation, “Cyberattacks in International Relations,” examines which forces in the international system might restrain state use of cyberattacks.
2015

A Forbes 30 Under 30 listing

Forbes names him to its Top 30 Under 30 in 2015, during his years as a White House economic and technology policy adviser.
March 2017

Joining MIT's IPRI

In March 2017, he joins MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI) as director of its Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security (TENS). He holds joint appointments at the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Center for International Studies.
2019

The first MIT AI Policy Congress

The inaugural MIT AI Policy Congress takes place in 2019, hosted by IPRI and the OECD, with discussions among researchers, industry insiders and policy experts on the future of AI. Edelman leads IPRI's AI policy research and is the lead organizer of the annual Congress. Wired also interviews him in January 2019 about robots, AI and job retraining.
2024

Rethinking Cyber Warfare

Oxford University Press releases his book Rethinking Cyber Warfare in 2024. It asks which, if any, forces in the international system might restrain state use of cyberattacks despite the strategic advantage they confer.
As of October 2026

Director of MIT's TENS project

He directs the Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security at MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative, where he is IPRI Distinguished Fellow. In 2024, he becomes president of the Institute For Education, where he co-chairs its Future of AI Roundtables, and he is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Career

Since 2024Institute For EducationPresident
Since 2017Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDirector of the Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security; IPRI Distinguished Fellow
NowBrookings InstitutionNonresident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy
From 2017MIT CSAIL
From 2012White House Office of Science and Technology PolicySenior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy
2012–2017Executive Office of the President of the United StatesSpecial Assistant to the President for Economic and Technology Policy
2010–2012National Security CouncilDirector for International Cyber Policy
United States Department of StateCo-founder