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Hodan Omaar

Hodan Omaar

Senior Policy Manager

Center for Data Innovation

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Hodan Omaar is a senior policy manager focusing on AI policy at ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation. Previously, she worked as a senior consultant on technology and risk management in London and as a crypto-economist in Berlin. She has an M.A. in economics and mathematics from the University of Edinburgh.

Recent Publications

April 11, 2025

Three Steps Trump Should Take to Advance Government AI Adoption

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memos aimed at accelerating AI adoption across the federal government. But that vision won’t materialize unless other parts of the administration stop pulling in opposite directions or failing to act altogether.

March 30, 2025

US AI Policy Is Stuck in Training Mode

U.S. AI policy prioritizes training compute while overlooking inference—the compute needed to deploy models effectively. As AI progress shifts toward optimizing inference, policymakers must adapt by supporting global deployment, refining export controls, and promoting energy-efficient AI to maintain U.S. competitiveness.

March 24, 2025

Virginia’s AI Bill Is a Misfire

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin will decide on HB 2094, a flawed AI bill with inconsistent rules and unworkable enforcement. Signing it would add to a costly patchwork of state laws without improving outcomes.

March 14, 2025

Comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the Development of an AI Action Plan

The Center for Data Innovation outlined seven policy priorities we believe to be most critical for the AI Action Plan, along with specific actions the administration should take.

March 13, 2025

U.S.-ROK Collaboration to Advance Quantum Technology and Industry

Decades of investment and world-class research have put the U.S. at the forefront, particularly in quantum computing, but a fragmented approach and limited focus on sensing and communication create strategic gaps. Collaboration with the ROK could help strengthen supply chains, accelerate commercialization, and bolster U.S. leadership in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

February 21, 2025

Comments to the California Privacy Protection Agency’s Proposed AI Regulations

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has proposed regulations that would impose new requirements on businesses using automated decision-making technology.

February 20, 2025

Selective Outrage Over AI and Copyright

The UK’s copyright system has long prioritized economic interests over creators’ control, allowing industries to learn from creative works without permission. Critics now opposing AI training have benefited from these same principles. A fair debate should acknowledge this precedent rather than selectively restricting AI.

January 30, 2025

DeepSeek Is a Reality Check Washington Can’t Afford to Get Wrong

DeepSeek’s breakthrough is a wake-up call that China’s AI capabilities are advancing faster than Western conventional wisdom has acknowledged.

January 26, 2025

Texas’s AI Law Won’t Deliver the Accountability It Promises

The bill’s heavy-handed approach risks creating more problems than it solves, prioritizing bureaucratic hurdles over meaningful progress in fairness and accountability.

January 17, 2025

It’s Time the United States Speaks With One Voice on AI

The United States has seen fragmented efforts in AI regulation. Lacking coordination, these efforts failed to create a unified strategy, leaving the U.S. without a clear voice on AI.

January 10, 2025

Moonshot AI: Betting Big on Long-Context, Confronting the Challenges of Scale and Reliability

This post is part of our ongoing series on China’s AI unicorns. Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based startup, rose quickly in China's AI market with its flagship chatbot Kimi, known for processing 2 million characters and a consumer-focused approach.

December 12, 2024

China’s AI Unicorns: Exploring the Five Startups Vying to Rival Western Counterparts

Five Chinese generative AI start-ups, known as "AI Tigers," have achieved unicorn status by 2025, highlighting China's rapid innovation and distinct strategies in the global AI race. This blog series delves into each of these five startups.

More publications by Hodan Omaar

Recent Events and Presentations

April 17, 2025

Is U.S. Policy Ready for Agentic AI?

Watch now for a panel discussion by ITIF's Center for Data Innovation on what the rise of agentic AI means for innovation, competition, and policy, how prepared the United States is to keep pace, and what policy shifts might be needed to ensure consumers and businesses can successfully develop and deploy AI agents.

March 25, 2025

U.S.-ROK Cooperation and Leadership in Batteries and Quantum Technologies

Hodan Omaar briefs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on US-ROK collaboration for quantum technologies.

March 20, 2025

China’s AI Leap No Surprise – If You Know Where to Look

Hodan Omaar speaks about China's AI innovation at a panel hosted by the National Press Foundation.

March 3, 2025

Tech Policy 202: Spring 2025 Educational Seminar Series for Congressional and Federal Staff

ITIF’s spring seminar course explores core emerging technologies and issues that are reshaping our world and, in the process, creating public policy challenges and opportunities. The course is open to congressional and federal staff only.

January 21, 2025

The Worst Tech Policies of 2024: How the New Administration and Congress Can Turn the Page

Watch now for a virtual panel discussion with technology policy experts who highlighted and critiqued the most counterproductive tech policies of the past year, and considered how the incoming administration and Congress can turn the page.

November 21, 2024

The Economic Potential of Artificial Intelligence

Hodan Omaar speaks about the economic potential of AI in the United States at a panel discussion hosted by Microsoft.

November 21, 2024

How Policymakers Should Navigate Tensions in Global AI Governance

Watch now for a timely discussion by The Center for Data Innovation and The Asia Group on how AI governance is unfolding globally, the key tensions shaping global regulations, and what these developments mean in the United States, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond.

June 12, 2024

Central EU Lawyers Initiative on Competitiveness

Hodan Omaar speaks at the Central European Initiative's panel event on EU competitiveness in Vienna.

May 15, 2024

How Can Policymakers Address AI Voice-Cloning Scams?

Watch now for a panel discussion exploring how threats from AI voice cloning are likely to develop, what countermeasures exist, and actionable steps policymakers can take to address both national and international threats.

February 12, 2024

AI and Creativity at the 20th Annual State of the Net

Hodan Omaar speaks at the 2024 State of the Net Conference on a panel about artificial intelligence and creativity in the arts.

September 21, 2023

FP Tech Forum @ UNGA78

Hodan Omaar speaks at Foreign Policy's FP Tech Forum during the 78th annual UN General Assembly. She joins an expert panel to explore how technologies are shaping geopolitics and development around the world.

July 13, 2023

Artificial Intelligence & Innovation: AI Use Cases Across Sectors

Gillian Diebold and Hodan Omaar speak about artificial intelligence and how it will impact different sectors of society at a webinar hosted by the Internet Law & Policy Foundry.

More Events & Presentations by Hodan Omaar

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