Marjory S. Blumenthal

Photo of Marjory Blumenthal
Adjunct Policy Researcher
Off Site Office

Education

M.P.P., Harvard University; A.B. in population studies, Brown University

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Marjory Blumenthal (she/her) is an adjunct policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She joined the RAND Corporation as director of the experimental Science, Technology, and Policy program in spring 2016, with a broad remit that includes science and technology trends, societal impacts, and policy. Her work at RAND has addressed such topics as automated vehicles, measuring the impact of research, regulatory policy, technological surprise and national security, citizen science, and trends and impacts of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum, deepfakes, IOT, and much more.

As founding executive director of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, she addressed the full range of information technologies and their impacts and is recognized for her work on the evolution of the internet and cybersecurity. In 2003, she took a leadership position at Georgetown University, developing academic strategy, promoting innovation, and fostering research; her personal research addressed cybersecurity in the context of the cloud. In 2013–2016, Blumenthal was executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, addressing research targeting and support, cybersecurity, big data and privacy, IT in health, technology and the future of cities, biosecurity, and many other issues.

Blumenthal is principal author and/or coauthor of numerous books and articles and serves on various boards and advisory bodies. She holds an M.P.P. from Harvard University and an A.B. in population studies from Brown University.

Research Focus

Concurrent Non-RAND Positions

Senior Fellow and Director, Technology and International Affairs Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Selected Publications

Chari, Ramya, et al., The Promise of Community Citizen Science, RAND (PE-256), 2017

Miller, Ben, et al., Inching Toward Reform: Trump's Deregulation and Its Implementation (PE-241)

Laura Fraade-Blanar, Marjory S. Blumenthal, James M. Anderson, Nidhi Kalra, Measuring Automated Vehicle Safety: Forging a Framework, (RR-2662), 2018

Marjory S. Blumenthal, Laura Fraade-Blanar, Ryan Best, J. Luke Irwin, Safe Enough: Approaches to Assessing Acceptable Safety for Automated Vehicles, RAND Corporation (RR-A569-1), 2020

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: KJZZ-FM Online; Shift; SmartDrivingCar

Commentary

  • An autonomous shuttle in Las Vegas, photo by LPETTET/Getty Images

    If You Build Automated Vehicles, Will Older Adults Come?

    Whether older adults benefit from autonomous vehicles may hinge on taking explicit steps. Lessons can be learned from experiences with other technologies.

    Apr 28, 2021 Inside Sources

  • Artificial intelligence concept, photo by kentoh/Getty Images

    Military Deception: AI's Killer App?

    Contrary to the promise that AI would deliver an omniscient view of everything happening in the battlespace—the goal of U.S. military planners for decades—it now appears that technologies of misdirection are winning. Military deception, in short, could prove to be AI’s killer app.

    Oct 23, 2019 War on the Rocks

  • Interior of autonomous car with ones and zeroes superimposed, photo by metamorworks/Getty Images

    Why AV Safety and Cybersecurity Need to Be Pursued in Tandem

    Safety and cybersecurity are generally pursued by separate teams within autonomous vehicle companies. A joint approach to standards could optimize safety and cybersecurity and reduce overall risks to autonomous vehicle operation.

    Mar 20, 2019 Axios

  • Car driving autonomously with LIDAR sensor

    The New AV Challenge: Creating a Universal Safety Framework

    Autonomous vehicle developers are pursuing different safety strategies and technologies, making different claims, in different ways, about their systems. A universal framework could provide a more consistent and transparent view of progress in AV safety within and across the industry, better informing the public and policymakers.

    Nov 2, 2018 Axios

  • Robots working with cardboard boxes on a conveyer belt

    AI's Promise and Risks

    Artificial intelligence seems to be advancing faster than efforts to understand its potential consequences, good and bad. And discussions about AI often veer toward extremes. More balanced, rigorous analysis is needed to help shape policies that mitigate AI's risks and maximize its benefits.

    Oct 24, 2017 TechCrunch

  • Floating ice and iceberg in Antarctic Peninsula

    When It Comes to Climate, Look for Vulnerabilities in Policy, Not Science

    Federal policymakers have picked up on the concept of red teaming — actively seeking out one's own vulnerabilities. While red teaming may not make sense for climate science, it does offer great benefits when weighing climate policy options.

    Aug 4, 2017 The Hill

Publications