Ainikki Riikonen

Former Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program

Ainikki Riikonen is a former Research Associate for the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her research focuses on emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and information systems in the context of international competition.

Before joining CNAS, Ainikki worked at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies where she supported security cooperation programs focused on regional security issues in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.

Her commentary and analysis have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Defense One, Voice of America, C4ISRNET, and Strategic Studies Quarterly. Ainikki has an undergraduate degree in international relations from the University of St Andrews and a master of arts in security studies from Georgetown University.

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Events
- October 19, 2023
Make Room | Study Session: AI Governance and National Security
By Ainikki Riikonen & Noah Greene
Events
- January 18, 2022
Special Event | The Future of the Digital Order
By Richard Fontaine, Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Lisa Curtis, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Kara Frederick & Ainikki Riikonen
Commentary
- TechCrunch
- December 31, 2021
Securing the Global Digital Economy Beyond the China Challenge
By Ainikki Riikonen
In The News
- The Verge
- December 7, 2021
After Decades of Surveillance, Muslims Struggle with How Much to Share Online
By Ainikki Riikonen
Reports
- December 2, 2021
Edge Networks, Core Policy
By Martijn Rasser, Ainikki Riikonen & Henry Wu