Advising on our AI future
From national security threats to the erosion of public trust, the implications are vast and evolving. We speak to alumna Oumou Ly (MSc Government 2019), a cybersecurity expert whose career has taken her from the White House to the frontlines of digital policy. Oumou discusses the challenges governments face in keeping pace with emerging technologies and why proactive governance is more urgent than ever.
Starting out
Before attending LSE, I worked as an aide to the US Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer. As a staffer on the Senator’s national security team, my portfolio included national security, defence, technology, and energy policy, and I advised the Senator and Democratic lawmakers in these areas. During my time in the US Senate, I contributed to a range of national policy initiatives, influenced US policy on matters of national and international security, and helped pass several pieces of legislation through Congress. I spent four years in this role but I became increasingly interested in where I would go next.
Broadening my international experience and pursuing graduate study were important ways of building on the experience I gained from working in Congress. My programme at LSE gave me the opportunity to think about these issues from a global perspective. During my studies, governments around the world began dealing with costly, devastating cyber-attacks. The interplay between technology and national security consequently became a focal piece of my studies.
When I returned to the US, I took a role as a fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society. At the time, the Centre had a major research focus on online influence operations. I contributed to that work, published research and commentary, including in The Hill, NBC, and the Financial Times, and co-authored the concept paper for BlueSky Social, a decentralised social networking platform which today hosts over 40 million users.
An opportunity arose for me to take a Presidentially appointed position at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. In this role, I advised the head of the Cybersecurity Division and led a variety of projects, including those focused on global cybersecurity issues.
When I look back, attending LSE was an important step on my path. It trained me to think “at scale” and to contextualize the US as part of a global ecosystem. Those were important lessons that still influence the way I approach these issues.
Working in the White House
Working in the White House was an incredible experience. My team was tasked with creating new national initiatives to improve cybersecurity outcomes for a variety of digital products. This meant establishing new public-private efforts to secure technology supply chains, reducing risks in commonly used software products, and improving the security of emerging technologies, including AI, quantum, and nanotechnologies. We produced several of the administration’s major policy efforts on these topics, including the US National Cybersecurity Strategy, as well as the President’s 2023 AI Executive Order.
Perhaps most meaningful for me was the opportunity to collaborate with experts from across government, industry, and academia to shape how the global community will regulate and oversee emerging technologies for years to come. By working collaboratively with cross-sector partners, the administration made meaningful strides toward strengthening cyber defence, building critical international coalitions on tech security, and ensuring that innovations like AI are developed responsibly. It was both demanding and humbling, and it gave me a deep appreciation for the complexity of policymaking at the highest level.
Our AI Future
There is an accelerating global race for technological leadership. Whoever leads in the research and development of AI, quantum, and advanced materials will have the ability to shape global markets, direct the attention of investors, and ultimately shape the global balance of power. For policymakers, the challenge will be to strengthen domestic innovation ecosystems and reduce exposure to competitor supply chains.
Ultimately there are issues around trust and resilience that need to be resolved. AI systems and digital platforms are becoming more embedded into core economic and financial infrastructures, from trading algorithms to payments networks. Cybersecurity failures or data breaches in these domains can trigger systemic financial risk. Governments and market actors alike need frameworks to understand, quantify, and manage these risks before they crystallize.
However, regulation has also become competitive, with the EU setting the pace while the US focuses more on innovation. These differing approaches risk fragmenting global standards, creating uncertainty for companies and investors alike.
I believe that the best outcomes for our global community will be achieved through close collaboration, not competition. I’m hopeful that governments will coordinate on issues of shared importance in these areas and provide stability in an era of profound technological disruption.
How to contribute
If you are interested in working at the intersection of policy, technology, and global affairs, then I recommend gaining both a technical and a policy foundation. Much of my career is explaining technology to policymakers, and policy to technologists!
But I would also encourage people not to wait for permission. Write, speak, and contribute ideas. Even early in your career, you can shape the debate by engaging with it. This field rewards people who bring clarity, creativity, and courage to fast-moving, high-stakes problems
Oumou Ly
(MSc Government 2019)
December 2025