James Ryseff

Technical Analyst

Washington Office

Education

M.S. in security studies, Georgetown University; B.S. in computer science, University of Illinois

Overview

James Ryseff is a senior technical policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. He leverages his prior experience as a software engineer at Microsoft, Google, and other companies in the private sector to apply his technical skills to public policy problems. His work focuses how technologies and practices such as Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, cybersecurity, agile software methodologies, and large-scale data analysis impact policy problems. His past research projects have included surveying software engineers to understand their concerns about military applications of AI, analyzing how China might weaponize data to impact US national security, improving the military’s ability to use its data to make decisions, and evaluating the Department of Defense’s readiness to adopt AI. He also maintains an interest in emergency management from his time serving as a lieutenant with a volunteer fire department.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Software engineer, Microsoft Corporation; Software engineer, Google

Recent Projects

Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence
The Department of Defense Posture for Artificial Intelligence
Improving Army investment data sources to better support acquisition decisionmaking

Selected Publications

James Ryseff, "The Maliciously Formed Packets of August: Cyberwarfare and the Offense-Defense Balance," CSIS Technology Policy Program Occasional Paper Series, 2017

, "How to Actually Recruit Talent for the AI Challenge," War on the Rocks, 2020

, ""The United States can only Achieve AI Dominance with Its Allies," War on the Rocks

, "How the Military might expand its Cyber Skills," RAND Blog

Commentary

Military Personnel Retention

How the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills
The U.S. military will need to improve its software fluency if it wants to be dominant on the battlefields of the future. Ensuring that future leaders in the military develop cyber skills and the ability to interface with technical experts may be increasingly important.
Apr 22, 2021
The RAND Blog
Military Strategy

The United States Can Achieve AI Dominance with Its Allies
Close collaborators in any AI alliance must be able to usefully contribute to the work and be trustworthy enough to share in cutting-edge technical advancements. While achieving this close collaboration with allies may be difficult, it will be essential if the United States hopes to achieve the data dominance needed to succeed in future combat.
Oct 9, 2020
War on the Rocks
Critical Infrastructure Protection

COVID-19 Highlights the Shortcomings of America's Digital Infrastructure
Much like America's aging physical infrastructure, America's digital infrastructure needs updating. To fix these urgent problems, local, state, and federal governments could turn to best practices used in the private sector to develop more reliable software.
May 14, 2020
Inside Sources
Technical Professions

How to Actually Recruit Talent for the AI Challenge
In the global race to dominate AI technologies, talent is everything. The Pentagon should consider redesigning its personnel policies to accommodate a much greater degree of speed and permeability in its cyber and AI workforce, regardless of what pay and benefits it offers.
Feb 5, 2020
War on the Rocks

Publications

Report
Implementing Technology-Enabled Human Resources Capabilities in the U.S. Air Force: Insight from the Private Sector and Military Services
This report, one in a set aimed at helping the U.S. Air Force succeed in replacing its traditional human resources system with digital talent management systems, identifies steps to implement this technology and align skills with job requirements.
Dec 21, 2022
Report
Comparing the Organizational Cultures of the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley
This report describes the organizational cultures of the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley to determine where they have differences and common ground for stronger collaboration to bridge the civil-military divide on artificial intelligence.
Jun 9, 2022
Report
Contractor Risk and Performance Indicators: Prototype Functional Specification and Developer Document
This report presents the technical design and architecture of a RAND-developed software prototype that assesses relative contractor risks in Department of the Air Force acquisition contracts and programs as described in two companion reports.
May 16, 2022
Report
Early Predictive Indicators of Contractor Performance: A Data-Analytic Approach
This report presents initial insights and approaches in exploring and prototyping methods to identify potential contractor performance risks for the Department of the Air Force earlier than would be typically reported via traditional methods.
May 12, 2022
Report
Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence
This report presents the results of a survey of software engineers and other technical staff to learn their views toward the defense community and their willingness to contribute to artificial intelligence projects for the U.S. Department of Defense.
May 11, 2022
Report
Relative Contractor Risks: A Data-Analytic Approach to Early Identification
The authors prototyped a new way to apply data analysis on a variety of government and commercial data sources to assess the relative contractor performance risks in Air Force acquisition contracts and programs.
Feb 4, 2022
Draft
Conflicted Information in Conflict Zones: Multidimensional analyses of social and traditional media from two case studies
Studies the patterns of information sharing on both social media and traditional print media in two contemporaneous conflict zones both with postcolonialism historical roots.
Aug 3, 2021
Research Brief
The Department of Defense's Posture for Artificial Intelligence: Assessment and Recommendations for Improvement
In this report, RAND Corporation researchers assess the state of artificial intelligence relevant to the U.S. Department of Defense and provide recommendations for the future of the department's artificial intelligence posture.
Jan 26, 2021
Report
The Department of Defense Posture for Artificial Intelligence: Assessment and Recommendations
In this report, the authors assess the state of artificial intelligence (AI) relevant to DoD, conduct an independent assessment of the Department of Defense's posture in AI, and put forth a set of recommendations to enhance that posture.
Dec 17, 2019