About
AT A GLANCE:
Independent Researcher
RESEARCH AREAS:
• Russian influence operations
• Homeland security
• Artificial intelligence
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. Heather Ashby is an independent researcher working at the intersection of national
security and technology. She previously served as the associate director for the United
States Institute of Peace’s program on disruptive technologies and artificial intelligence
and the acting director for USIP’s Center for Russia and Europe. Dr. Ashby joined
USIP after seven years with the Department of Homeland Security, where she worked
on both domestic and international affairs issues.
Her research explores how new and emerging technologies impact U.S. national security and democratic governance. Dr. Ashby also continues to examine the Russian government’s foreign policy approach and its (and affiliated entities) use of technology to undermine democracies and as a tool to further conflict.
Dr. Ashby received her doctorate from the University of Southern California in 2014.
CONNECT / FOLLOW:
Linkedin: in/dr-heather-ashby-3b112878
Twitter: @DrHeatherAshby
PUBLICATIONS:
From Gaza to Ukraine, AI is Transforming War
Ink Stick Media
Pitting Existential Risks Against Near-Term AI Risks is a False Dichotomy
Ink Stick Media
Disinformation Casts a Shadow Over Global Elections
United States Institute of Peace
A Role for AI in Peacebuilding
United States Institute of Peace
Russia’s Africa Summit — and a Future for Wagner
United States Institute of Peace
Russia’s Wagner Uprising Will Force a Kremlin Reshuffle in Africa
United States Institute of Peace
What Does the Wagner Mutiny Mean for Putin and His War on Ukraine?
United States Institute of Peace
What You Need to Know About Russia’s New Foreign Policy Concept
United States Institute of Peace
What BRICS Expansion Means for the Bloc’s Founding Members
United States Institute of Peace
Heather Ashby on Moscow’s Diplomatic Approach to the Russia-Africa Summit
United States Institute of Peace