Paul Scharre Named Director of CNAS Technology and National Security Program

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) today named Paul Scharre as the Director of the CNAS Technology and National Security Program. Scharre was formerly the Director of the Center’s Future of Warfare Initiative. The Technology and National Security Program will focus on the policy implications of artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber-physical systems, and other emerging technologies for national security.

Scharre replaces Ben FitzGerald, who left CNAS to become a professional staff member for the Majority Staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Paul is the ideal expert to lead the Technology and National Security Program,” said CNAS CEO Michèle Flournoy. “As a former Army Ranger with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as a former force planner in the Pentagon, he understands just how much technology can change the battlefield. For the past few years, Paul has led CNAS’ cutting-edge research into the effects of robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence on the future of warfare. I look forward to seeing the impact his work will have as Director of the Technology and National Security Program.”

A major focus of the program will be bringing together the policy and technology communities to better understand national security challenges and develop solutions.

Melissa Flagg, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research, recently joined the Technology and National Security Program as an Adjunct Senior Fellow. Her research will focus on modernizing the overarching policies, structures, and institutions that sustain the U.S. basic research and national security communities.

Gregory Allen will serve as an Adjunct Fellow in the Technology and National Security Program and will work on the implications of the artificial intelligence revolution for international security, building on his recent report from Harvard's Belfer Center.

Alexandra Sander will remain a Research Associate in the Technology and National Security Program.

Scharre is available for interviews on the future of the Technology and National Security Program. To arrange one, please contact Neal Urwitz at nurwitz@cnas.org or 202-457-9409.