Helen Toner

# Helen Toner

Helen Toner

Director of strategy at CSET

| Helen Toner |
| --- |
| Born | 1992 (age33–34)<br>[Melbourne, Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne,_Australia "Melbourne, Australia") |
| Education | [University of Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Melbourne "University of Melbourne") B.Sc. Chemical Engineering (2014) <br>[Georgetown University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University "Georgetown University") M.A. Security Studies (2021) |
| Occupation | Executive Director |
| Employer | [Center for Security and Emerging Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Security_and_Emerging_Technology "Center for Security and Emerging Technology") (CSET) |
| Knownfor | Former board member of [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI") |
| Website | [cset.georgetown.edu/staff/helen-toner/](https://cset.georgetown.edu/staff/helen-toner/) |

**Helen Toner** (born 1992) is an Australian researcher, and the interim executive director at [Georgetown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_(Washington,_D.C.) "Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)")’s [Center for Security and Emerging Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Security_and_Emerging_Technology "Center for Security and Emerging Technology"). She was a board member of [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI") when CEO [Sam Altman was fired](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_OpenAI "Removal of Sam Altman from OpenAI").[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-1)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-2)

In 2024, [TIME magazine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(magazine) "Time (magazine)") listed Toner among 100 most influential people in AI.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-3)

## Early life and education

Toner was born in 1992 in [Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne "Melbourne"), Australia to two doctors.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-4) She graduated from the [University of Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Melbourne "University of Melbourne") in 2014 with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. She participated in [UN Youth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Youth_Australia "United Nations Youth Australia"), an organization that provides [student engagement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_engagement "Student engagement") in international [diplomacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy "Diplomacy") simulations.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-auto-5)[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-:0-6) She was introduced to the [effective altruism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism "Effective altruism") movement while a university student in Melbourne.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Toner#cite_note-auto-5) In 2018, she spent nine months in Beijing studying Chinese an

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