Rethinking Government with AI

Cosmina Dorobantu is Co-Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute for data science and artificial intelligence. Cosmina joined the Turing four years ago to set up and co-lead the Public Policy research programme. The programme works alongside the government, regulators, and international organisations to explore not only how data science and AI can improve policy-making processes, but also how these technologies should be governed. Now home to 50+ full-time AI researchers and 70+ research projects, the Public Policy programme has gained national and international recognition for its work on the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector. As a researcher, Cosmina has a deep interest in working with unconventional data and innovative modelling techniques to improve policy-makers understanding of economics. She has a Ph.D. in Economics, from the University of Oxford, and in her own research, she has worked with large datasets from online platforms like Google to study digital trade as well as online advertising auctions. She led research collaborations with organisations like the European Commission, and she sits on various boards and advisory groups, including the Trade and Economy Panel at the Department for International Trade, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Financial Services Artificial Intelligence Public-Private Forum, and the Mayor of London’s new Data for London Board. Cosmina’s current work sits at the intersection of policy and academia, and it is informed by her extensive experience in the industry. Prior to joining the Turing, Cosmina was a Director and co-founder of Aurora Energy Research, one of the UK’s leading energy market modelling and analytics firms. She also spent five years at Google, defining the company’s investment and business strategy in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.