Elizabeth Kelly

Director of the US AI Safety Institute

Elizabeth Kelly, Director of the US AI Safety Institute, where she collaborates with the US government to ensure that AI systems remain secure and ethical.

With an MSc in social policy from the University of Oxford and a JD from Yale Law School, Kelly has helped shape President Joe Biden's technology policy and assisted in drafting his executive order last year that focused on issues related to AI safety.

► Prior to her work in public service, she held leadership roles at Capital One and United Income.
► In 2014, she served as Special Assistant to President Obama and managed his regulations on retirement security, financial inclusion, and unemployment insurance.
► In 2022, she was reappointed to this role by President Biden to help shape the US’ stance on AI regulation.

Kelly joined as Director at the US AI Safety Institute in 2024—her team is collaborating with more than 200 companies (including OpenAI and Anthropic, who have agreed to let them test their future models) to develop rigorous testing standards and ensure that AI systems deployed in the US are well-regulated.

Kelly’s work in AI has earned her recognition on:
► TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people in AI (2024)
► Business Insider's 2024 AI Power List (2024)
► Forbes’ 30 under 30 in Law & Policy (2017)

She believes that “safety enables trust, which enables innovation.” As AI evolves, kudos to Kelly for leading the critical mission of creating frameworks that balance innovation with the necessary safeguards. I fully support this approach!