Anna Knack

Anna Knack is a Senior Research Associate in the Turing’s Defence and National Security Grand Challenge and Lead Researcher at CETaS. Her research aims to identify solutions addressing the technical and policy challenges that inhibit the security community from leveraging opportunities in artificial intelligence and emerging technology. Anna’s recent and ongoing research is focused on human-machine teaming, AI explainability, AI-augmented decision-making and cyber AI.

Prior to joining the Turing, Anna was Deputy Co-ord Lead of the Technology, Disruption & Uncertainty research workstream in RAND where she coordinated a portfolio of work that leveraged futures methods to help policy-makers understand and prepare for the future strategic operating environment. This included military capability development, defence innovation ecosystems, defence industrial base development, cybersecurity, cybercrime and counter-terrorism.

Anna’s past research informed the Integrated Review and the UK Ministry of Defence’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy, as well as the European Commission’s Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills for the European defence industrial base. Her previous research also informed strategy and policy at UK Strategic Command; UK Army HQ; the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre; the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; the French Ministry of Defence; the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group; the European Defence Agency; the European Commission; the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity and Europol.

She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has conducted policy briefings for senior decision-makers in national government, NATO and the EDA. Anna holds an M.A. in International Relations: Conflict Studies & Human Rights from the University of Utrecht and a B.A. in Politics & Social Policy from the University of York.