Camille François, a Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, is a globally recognized authority on digital safety and responsible innovation. For over a decade, she has been a sought after-advisor to top technology companies, leading nonprofits, and governments. Her public interest missions have included investigating Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election on behalf of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, leading the French government’s 2022 inquiry into the economic opportunities and societal challenges of the metaverse, and being appointed in 2023 by President Emmanuel Macron to lead a national consultative assembly addressing the interplay between information, democracy, and society.

As a technology executive, she most recently served as the Senior Director for Trust & Safety at Niantic, an augmented reality company, where she established and led its trust and safety function. Prior to this, François was Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika, where she led the company’s product development, investigative work, and R&D efforts into uncovering and attributing information operations and organized online harms.

Her recent research focuses on advancing open-source AI with an emphasis on pluralism, transparency, and ethical innovation. At Columbia University, she heads a program on public interest AI, teaching the next generation of leaders about trust and safety in digital technologies. Recognized as a TIME 100 NEXT and MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 honoree, François has consistently shaped the future of safer, more trustworthy digital systems.