Benjamin Wittes

AI position

Aware of x-risk

Moderated one cybersecurity-and-AI panel with an OpenAI staffer; no recurring x-risk hosting of his own.

Why influential

Shapes how courts, investigations and executive power are understood by legal professionals, policymakers, advocates and news audiences. Primary policy lanes: national security; executive power; courts; cyber.

Who pays attention

National-security lawyers, judges, agency counsel, Hill staff, intelligence professionals and legal journalists

Work samples

• The Lawfare Podcast: Cybersecurity and AI

  Jun 1, 2023 · podcast

  Wittes moderated a Verify 2023 panel with Alex Stamos, Nicole Perlroth, and OpenAI's Dave Willner on AI security threats.

• The Lawfare Podcast: ChatGPT Tells All

  Feb 8, 2023 · podcast

  Wittes interviewed ChatGPT itself about bias, academic integrity, and jailbreaking; not a human AI-world touchpoint.

• Lawfare Live: Anthropic Designated as a Supply Chain Risk

  Mar 2, 2026 · podcast

  Wittes hosted with Lawfare colleague Alan Rozenshtein on Pentagon's Anthropic supply-chain designation; no AI lab guest.

• The Lawfare Podcast: John Allen and Darrell West on Artificial Intelligence

  Jan 1, 2021 · podcast

  Wittes discussed AI governance book with Brookings policy authors, not AI-lab researchers.

AI-world contacts

• Dave Willner — Former Head of Trust & Safety, OpenAI

  • Wrote aboutdirectness unclassified — Appeared as OpenAI's representative on a Wittes-moderated Lawfare panel about AI security threats.