Noah Feldman

Noah Feldman is a Harvard law professor, public intellectual, prolific writer and a leading AI ethicist & tech advisor, He has been described as "one of the country’s most sought-after authorities," and “a public intellectual for our time.” Feldman was named to Esquire’s list of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and has been called a “legal rock star” by the Wall Street Journal and "one of the stars of his generation" by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.‍

Specializing in the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, governance, ethics and the law, Feldman has spoken to audiences of thousands on stages around the world, from China and India to Europe, the Middle East, and every major city in the United States. He's spoken at many of the world's best known conferences and summits, including TED's mainstage (twice!), the Aspen Ideas Festival, Chautauqua, the Sun Valley Writers Conference, the Council for Foreign Relations, the 92nd St Y, and many, many talks for YPO. He's given lectures at Yale, Princeton, Stanford & Cambridge Universities, as well as dozens of other colleges and universities around the world. He addressed a global audience of 13 million as an expert in Donald Trump's impeachment hearings, where he was the first speaker. He's appeared as an expert dozens of times on CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, The Colbert Report, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360, Fareed Zakaria GPS, among many other news programs.‍

He is the author of 10 critically acclaimed nonfiction books, including Divided By God, What We Owe Iraq, Cool War, Scorpions, The Three Lives of James Madison, Arab Winter, The Broken Constitution, and his latest, out in March 2024, Bad Jew: A Perplexed Guide to God, Israel & the Jewish People. A widely read policy & public affairs columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, Feldman also writes for The New York Review of Books and was a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine for nearly a decade.‍

In 2021 Feldman founded Ethical Compass Advisors, which helps technology clients like Meta (Facebook), eBay & Tiktok, and major AI startups improve ethical decisionmaking by creating and implementing innovative new governance solutions. He conceived and architected the Facebook Oversight Board, and continues to be at the forefront of the conversation around the AI revolution - and what individuals, businesses, the government and society need to do to ensure a safe transition.‍

Feldman has been the well-respected host of the Deep Background podcast, an interview show that explores the historical, scientific, legal and cultural context behind the biggest stories in the news, with a focus on ethics & power. He has interviewed luminaries & thought leaders like the NYT’s Nikole Hannah-Jones, author Malcolm Gladwell and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.At age 32, Feldman served as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and subsequently advised members of the Iraqi Governing Council on the drafting of Iraq’s interim constitution. At 42, he advised the Tunisian constituent assembly on the design and drafting of their post-Arab Spring constitution.‍

Earning his A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard, Feldman finished first in his class. Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a D.Phil. from Oxford University, writing his dissertation on Aristotle’s Ethics. Feldman received his J.D. from Yale Law School, and clerked for Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a Junior Fellows of the Society of Fellows at Harvard, a professor at the NYU School of Law, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.‍

Feldman currently serves as Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Chair of the Society of Fellows, and founding director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law, all at Harvard University. 

He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.