Anna Makanju, a nonresident senior fellow in the Transatlantic Security Initiative, serves as a public policy and legal expert at Facebook, overseeing initiatives dedicated to upholding election integrity on the platform.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born and raised in the Soviet Union, she later immigrated to the United States, details such as her birthdate, family members, religion, caste, hobbies, and zodiac sign are not available.
EDUCATION
Anna Makanju did schooling at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University but she obtained her law degree from Stanford University.
CAREER
Currently serving as a public policy and legal expert at Facebook, she spearheads initiatives to safeguard election integrity on the platform. Earlier in her career, she held roles as the special policy adviser for Europe and Eurasia to former US Vice President Joe Biden, senior policy adviser to Ambassador Samantha Power at the United States Mission to the United Nations, director for Russia at the National Security Council, and chief of staff for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Additionally, she has taught at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and worked as a consultant for a prominent space technology-focused company.
She dedicated her legal career to roles at the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, as a law clerk to Judge Theodore McKee on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and within the international arbitration group at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP.
Having joined OpenAI in September 2021, Makanju brings substantial policy expertise, having served as a policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden during the Obama Administration. Her background includes roles at the U.N., NATO, and Facebook. However, uncertainties persist regarding the extent to which OpenAI is genuinely committed to adhering to regulations, despite the company’s stated support for guardrails within the AI sector.
IN INTERVIEW
Makanju highlighted India’s leading role in crucial AI discussions, expressing confidence in the nation as a pivotal host for the summit. She stressed the importance of India’s young entrepreneurs and civil society leaders, viewing them as the cornerstone of the country’s AI future. Makanju urged other nations to learn from India’s success in cultivating an AI workforce.
As the OpenAI VP, she underscored India’s achievements in nurturing top-tier technology talent and reiterated OpenAI’s global mission to develop tools benefiting everyone, including partners and various organizations.
Makanju emphasized OpenAI’s four key principles: a commitment to broadening the distribution of artificial general intelligence benefits, efforts to enhance the long-term safety of AI systems, collaboration with other research and policy institutions, and maintaining a position at the forefront of AI capabilities as a technical leader in the field.
