Ajwang Rading

Ajwang Rading is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. An entrepreneur-investor, lawyer, and policy advisor, his interdisciplinary research and teaching examine the nexus of emerging technologies (with an emphasis on artificial intelligence), law, public policy, ethics and safety, and the societal and economic implications of innovation.

In addition to his academic appointment, Rading serves as Co-Founder & Partner at Silicon AI Advisory, the leading global law firm and consultancy dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence matters. He is also the Managing Partner of AMR Ventures, a fund focused on catalyzing American economic prosperity through strategic investments in small and medium businesses, and Partner of Lekadora Group, a real estate holding company.

Previously, as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Rading advised large technology companies, startups, and venture capital firms as “outside General Counsel” on emerging technologies, corporate governance, venture financings, mergers & acquisitions, and public markets, as well as national security, regulatory compliance, and strategic crisis management.

Rading’s public service includes a U.S. Congressional campaign (CA-16, 2022) and work as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Cory Booker and then-U.S.-Congressman (now-U.S.-Senator) Adam Schiff. At the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, Rading researched and documented over 4,000 lynchings throughout the American South and helped establish the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Today, Rading serves on the boards of LifeMoves and Human Rights Watch (Silicon Valley committee), and is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and Perplexity AI Fellow. He writes -1 to 1, a newsletter on building businesses from scratch, followed by over 35,000 people across Silicon Valley and California. He is regularly invited to speak at events such as SXSW and SF Tech Week, and has guest-lectured at institutions such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, UC Berkeley School of Law, and the University of Lucerne in Switzerland.

Rading holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the UCLA Law Review, and a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA.

Personal website: www.ajwangrading.com
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Robert Fairlie

I am a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at UCLA, and a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). I study a wide range of topics including entrepreneurship, education, labor, racial, gender and caste inequality, information technology, immigration, health, and development. I strive for my research to have a broad impact by providing rigorous, unbiased and objective evidence on questions that are important for society and often involve highly-charged policy debates. My methodological focus is on conducting randomized control field experiments, employing advanced econometric techniques and identification strategies, and working with and building large administrative datasets. Publications from my research have appeared in leading journals in economics, policy, management, science, and medicine.

 

I received a Ph.D. and M.A. from Northwestern University and B.A. with honors from Stanford University. I have held visiting positions at Stanford University, Yale University, UC Berkeley, and Australian National University. I have received funding for my research from the National Science Foundation, National Academies and Russell Sage Foundation as well as numerous government agencies and foundations, and have testified in front of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the California State Assembly. Recent awards and honors include a joint resolution from the California State Assembly, Choice Academic Title award, and the Bradford-Osborne research award in both 2020 and 2021. I am regularly interviewed by the media to comment on economic, education, entrepreneurship, inequality and policy issues.

 

 

 

My new book on entrepreneurship, job creation and survival just came out at MIT Press.

 

 

 

 

For more information on my research, teaching, and policy work, please visit: https://rfairlie.sites.luskin.ucla.edu/