Lauren Kahn is a Senior Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), focusing on the national security applications of AI. Previously, she was a Policy Advisor for Force Development and Emerging Capabilities in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense. At the DoD, she worked extensively with external partners to develop national and international AI and autonomy policies and norms, as well as with internal DoD stakeholders to translate strategy into budget and programming decisions, ensuring the best and most cutting-edge tools and technologies reached our warfighters.
Before entering government, she served as a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania’s global policy think tank. Her work has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Lawfare, War on the Rocks, the Journal for Conflict Resolution, and AI & Society, and has been featured in The Economist.
Lauren holds a master’s in computer and information technology and a B.A. in international relations, both from the University of Pennsylvania.