About
Dr Shyam Krishna is a Research Leader at RAND Europe specialising in AI safety, governance and emerging technology issues. His research examines how increasingly capable and autonomous AI systems are reshaping critical infrastructure, institutional preparedness, technological dependencies and international governance.
His current work spans AI assurance and evaluation, critical national infrastructure, AI sovereignty and supply chains, agentic systems, and international AI policy. He designs and leads research programmes combining policy analysis, foresight, tabletop exercises, ecosystem mapping, stakeholder engagement and mixed-methods research.
Shyam has worked with governments and international organisations across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, including through RAND Europe, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and The Alan Turing Institute. He is also a member of UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts Without Borders network and the UN AI Governance for Humanity Lab. His earlier research examined data justice, digital identity, platform labour and the societal impacts of data-intensive technologies.
He holds a PhD in Critical Data Studies and Information Systems from Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a Visiting Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London.
Research Leader, RAND Europe
Roles
Selected professional, advisory and academic appointments.
Research Leader, RAND Europe
AI, emerging technology, safety, governance and strategic policy research.
Council of Europe
Contributing to work on AI governance, policy and institutional capacity.
UNESCO AI Ethics Experts Without Borders
Member of UNESCO’s global expert network supporting AI governance, ethical impact assessment, readiness and implementation of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
UN AI Governance for Humanity Lab
Member contributing to international work on interoperability, inclusive participation and practical pathways for global AI governance.
Programme Specialist, Ethics of AI, UNESCO
AI readiness, national governance, policy engagement and institutional capacity.
Postdoctoral Researcher, The Alan Turing Institute
Public policy, data justice, responsible AI and synthetic data.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UCL
Interdisciplinary research across anthropology, HCI and the built environment.
Visiting Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London
Visiting academic appointment at the Digital Environment Research Institute.
Education
A multidisciplinary background spanning information systems, development, management and engineering.
PhD, Critical Data Studies / Information Systems
Royal Holloway, University of London.
MSc, ICTs for Development
University of Manchester.
MBA / Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Indian Institute of Management Shillong.
Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics & Communication
Anna University, India.
Earlier research
My doctoral and early-career work focused on digital identity, platform labour, datafication, surveillance, telemedicine and technology for development. That work continues to shape how I think about agency, inequality and institutional responsibility in AI systems.