Michelle Nie
Welcome
Hi! I'm Michelle, an AI policy researcher based in Washington, D.C. I'm currently a Visiting Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) as part of the Horizon Fellowship. I am also the Co-Founder of Women in Safety and Ethics (WISE).Currently, my work is focused on conducting research on frontier AI and its implications on national security and foreign policy. In particular, I focus on compute policy, including export controls and datacenter buildouts.Previously, I researched AI and market competition issues with the Open Markets Institute as part of the Talos Fellowship. I've also worked with UNESCO on AI capacity building for the public sector.Before that, I worked in social impact consulting, largely focusing on the education and workforce development sectors, and also in financial analysis. I received a Master's in Public Affairs from Sciences Po in Paris and a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. I've spent time in San Francisco and Paris. Outside of work, I'm a hobbyist film photographer, and I enjoy reading, climbing, and practicing French.I also occasionally write on Substack.
Selected Publications
AI & Security
The Export Control Loophole Fueling China's Chip Production, CNAS Insights
Fighting AI Cyberattacks Starts With Knowing They’re Happening, Lawfare
Governments Need to Protect AI Industry Whistleblowers: Here's How, AI Policy Bulletin
How Sovereign Is Sovereign Compute? A Review of 775 Non-U.S. Data Centers
Tech and Market Competition
Engineering the Cloud Commons: Tackling Monopoly Control of Critical Digital Infrastructure, Open Markets Institute
What the EU Needs to Do to Challenge Big Tech Cloud Dominance, Tech Policy Press
Meta’s Foray Into Undersea Cables Raises Questions Over Critical Infrastructure, Open Markets Institute
AI and Market Concentration: Expert Brief, Open Markets Institute
"Europe’s ‘AI Continent’ Vision Risks Handing More Power to Tech Giants," part of the Open Markets Institute's Corner Newsletter
AI and Democracy
Artificial Intelligence: The Biggest Threat to Democracy Today?, AAAI Spring 2024 Symposium Proceedings
Talks
International Association for Safe and Ethical AI (IASEAI), Paris, February 2026: How sovereign is sovereign compute?
Cooperative AI Conference, Istanbul, November 2025
AAAI Spring Symposium, Stanford, March 2024: AI and Democracy