Jessica Brandt is a senior fellow for technology and national security at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is a leading expert on the national security implications of artificial intelligence (AI), foreign malign influence, and the governance of emerging technologies.

As director of the Foreign Malign Influence Center at ODNI, Brandt led the U.S. intelligence Community’s efforts to mitigate foreign influence threats, including during the 2024 U.S. election cycle. Reporting directly to the Director of National Intelligence, she stood up the center and spearheaded efforts to address AI-enabled foreign influence operations. She also revitalized engagement with the technology sector and implemented an innovative public communication strategy that earned bipartisan praise for its transparency and reach.

Prior to ODNI, she was policy director of the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative and a fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institution. She has also held leadership roles at the German Marshall Fund and the Brookings Institution focused on technology policy and international security.

Brandt regularly testifies before Congress and briefs U.S. policymakers, technology leaders, and international officials on AI, foreign malign influence, and the national security implications of emerging technologies. Her work has appeared in outlets including the AP, BBC, CNN, Foreign Policy, NPR, New Yorker, Washington Post, Washington Quarterly, and Wired.

Brandt holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA in public policy from Harvard University.