Ben Buchanan, Renowned AI Policy Expert, Joins Johns Hopkins SAIS Faculty

The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is pleased to announce that Ben Buchanan, an internationally recognized thought leader on technology policy, has joined its faculty, bringing his extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and national security policy to the school’s expanding initiatives in emerging technologies.

Buchanan will contribute to research, teaching, and public debate on critical topics such as AI governance, cyber conflict, and technological competition among global powers. As part of SAIS’ Emerging Technologies Initiative, he will play a pivotal role in equipping the next generation of scholars and practitioners with the knowledge and tools to navigate the rapidly evolving technological landscape.

A leading scholar at the intersection of technology and international security, Buchanan will also make a distinct contribution to the Johns Hopkins University-wide effort on data science and exploration of AI, an initiative which brings together experts from a range of disciplines to capitalize on the potential of data to fuel discovery.

Prior to joining SAIS, Buchanan served as the White House Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence. In this position, he played an instrumental role in crafting several key deliverables on AI policy. This included two Executive Orders on AI: the first on ensuring the development and use of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI; and the second on building AI infrastructure in the United States. Buchanan also helped to formulate the National Security Memorandum on AI, the White House Voluntary Commitments on AI, agreed to by 16 leading corporations, the unanimously passed United Nations General Assembly resolution on AI, and other international convenings and agreements. He previously held key White House roles as Director for Technology and National Security on the National Security Council, and Assistant Director at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

At Georgetown University, Ben was the Director of the CyberAI Project at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a Senior Faculty Fellow, and an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

“We are delighted to welcome Ben to SAIS at this crucial moment when emerging technologies are reshaping global power dynamics,” said SAIS Dean James B. Steinberg. “His expertise will be invaluable in bolstering the rigor and relevance in our training of the next generation of global leaders.”

“Ben comes to SAIS at a critical time as we strengthen our leadership in addressing emerging technologies' implications for global security. He is joining our already remarkable and diverse group of tech policy experts at SAIS, led by Olga Belogolova, director of SAIS’ Emerging Technologies Initiative; Anna Broughel, Lecturer in Sustainable Energy Transition Policy; Melissa Griffith, Lecturer in Technology and National Security; Thomas Rid, Professor of Strategic Studies and founding director of the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at SAIS; Jane Vaynman, Assistant Professor of Strategic Studies; and Joshua White, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs. I look forward to working with Ben and all our colleagues to bridge research and policy on a broad range of issues associated with technology governance, facilitate informed public dialogue, and support students and practitioners who gain the necessary skills and insights to work across sectors,” added Dean Steinberg.
 
“I’m excited to join Johns Hopkins SAIS at a time when addressing the challenges of emerging technologies in national and international security is more important than ever,” said Buchanan. “SAIS’ commitment to forward-thinking research, teaching on transformative issues, and substantive policy engagement makes it the ideal place to analyze and respond to the impact of rapid technological evolutions on global affairs.”
 
Buchanan is the author of three books, The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI (MIT Press, 2022), The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics (Harvard University Press, 2020), and The Cybersecurity Dilemma (Oxford University Press, 2017). His academic work includes journal articles on artificial intelligence, cyber deterrence, cryptography, election security, and the dynamics of malicious code among state and non-state actors. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and other media outlets.
 
Buchanan earned his Ph.D. in War Studies as a Marshall Scholar at King’s College London, following master’s and undergraduate degrees from Georgetown University.

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Johns Hopkins SAIS

For more than eight decades, students have come to the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to learn from renowned faculty and distinguished policy
practitioners, build their professional networks, and gain hands-on work experience.
 
The school was founded in 1943 by Paul H. Nitze and Christian A. Herter, statesmen who sought to prepare the next generation of leaders to meet the complex challenges the U.S. and the world would face following World War II. A distinguished faculty of scholars and policy experts developed an innovative curriculum that emphasized international politics, economics, and foreign languages. That program, combined with skills training and experiential learning, helped prepare students to make a difference in government, civil society, and the private sector. In 1955, SAIS established a campus in Bologna, Italy, and in 1986 the school initiated one of the first Western university programs in the People’s Republic of China in Nanjing.

Today, SAIS carries on this tradition, preparing students for the emerging challenges of the 21st century. Johns Hopkins SAIS’ living alumni number more than 24,000 graduates, a network of professionals working across the globe. From private-sector executives to entrepreneurs, leaders of nongovernmental organizations to ambassadors, and international media correspondents to energy consultants, SAIS alumni are defined by their innovative thinking, analytical approach, and policy expertise. They are leaders in their fields, lifelong students committed to the betterment of the world.

For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on X @SAISHopkins