Pioneering AI research leader joins LSE to advance the DSI’s reach and impact
LSE's Data Science Institute (DSI) is delighted to announce the appointment of Cosmina Dorobantu as Professor in Practice. This strategic appointment will help LSE play the vital role of ensuring that social sciences guide AI advancement towards a path that benefits our economies and societies.
Professor Dorobantu brings an impressive combination of entrepreneurial vision, policy influence, and academic excellence. Her career spans from shaping Google’s business strategy in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, to co-founding Aurora Energy Research, now Europe’s largest dedicated power analytics provider. Most recently, alongside Professor Helen Margetts, she co-founded and co-directed the world’s largest programme of research on AI for the public sector at The Alan Turing Institute.
The Public Policy Programme brought together more than 55 full-time researchers and worked with over 100 public sector organisations, from multinational organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Council of Europe, to UK government departments, regulators, and local authorities. The Programme's research shaped policymaking across the Global South, created innovative AI models to improve productivity in the public sector, informed landmark legislation like the Online Safety Act, and influenced national and international approaches to AI governance.
Professor Dorobantu’s extensive policy influence includes serving on the Mayor of London's Data Advisory Board, advising on data strategy and the development of the Data for London platform; the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority's AI Public-Private Forum, advising on the benefits and challenges of AI deployment in financial services; and the Department for International Trade’s Trade and Economy Panel, advising on digital trade and AI’s impact on global commerce. She has also held advisory roles for the Cabinet Office and Government Office for Science on long-term strategic thinking, and served as an expert witness to UK Parliamentary committees. In March 2025, she received the inaugural AI and Robotics Research Community Award, recognising her contributions to the AI research landscape in the UK as well as the collaborations she fostered “between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, bridging the gap between innovation and societal impact.”
Professor Dorobantu's appointment comes as the DSI continues to expand its research capabilities and build new strategic partnerships. She will play a leading role in shaping a new Global Institute for Technology and Society, working to establish it as one of the world's leading centres for research at the intersection of AI and the social sciences. Alongside Professor Helen Margetts, DSI Senior Adviser and Visiting Professor, and LSE colleagues, she will help ensure that the School delivers on its ambition and responsibility to guide AI advancement and deepen our understanding of an AI-powered world.
We are delighted that Cosmina Dorobantu has joined the DSI. Her ability to connect research with policy, combined with her experience of building world-class research programmes, will be instrumental in developing the Institute's capabilities and in positioning LSE as a global leader in understanding AI's social, economic, and political implications. We are all very much looking forward to working with her
The most sophisticated AI models are about people. More than that, AI advancement affects people. The centrality of humans to AI means that the social sciences, which provide the academic lenses through which we study and understand people, have a key role to play in our technological future. My ambition is to build a world-leading institute that champions the social sciences and solidifies their place in AI advancement. I am convinced that there is no better place to do this than LSE. I am thrilled to join the DSI and work alongside LSE’s brilliant academics to ensure that people and the social sciences are at the heart of technological progress.
AI will reshape everything: our economy, our institutions, our daily life. As a global leader in the social sciences, LSE brings the critical humanistic and social perspective to the development and deployment of AI, which like all new technologies, is ultimately about people and society. Cosmina Dorobantu's exceptional track record in building institutions and bridging research with real-world policy will drive DSI's ambitious expansion into a comprehensive centre for research and real-world impact on issues of technology and society, positioning LSE as a leading voice in the global conversation on AI's future.