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Tim Fist - Senior Adjunct Fellow, Technology and National Security Program | CNAS

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High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.

Rating inherited from publication venue: CNAS

Tim Fist is a CNAS fellow focused on AI governance through compute/hardware controls, a key technical mechanism for AI safety and preventing adversarial AI development by state actors like China.

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Importance: 35/100homepage

Summary

This is the professional profile page for Tim Fist, a Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). His work centers on AI governance through computing hardware controls, with a technical background in machine learning and AI hardware. He focuses on national security implications of AI chip exports and related policy.

Key Points

  • Focuses on AI governance using compute/computing hardware as a policy lever, a central mechanism in AI safety and export control debates.
  • Previously Head of Strategy & Governance at Fathom Radiant, an AI hardware company, bringing technical credibility to policy work.
  • Has commented publicly on Nvidia chip export controls to China and their national security implications.
  • Background spans ML engineering, aerospace engineering, and political science, enabling cross-disciplinary AI policy analysis.
  • Recent work includes analysis of Trump administration AI policy and its implications for US-China AI competition.

2 FactBase facts citing this source

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Tim Fist | CNAS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 Tim Fist

 Senior Adjunct Fellow, Technology and National Security Program

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 Press: [email protected] 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 [email protected] 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 View High-res Photo 
 

 

 
 Research Areas 
 

 
 
 
 Technology & National Security
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 Tim Fist is a Senior Adjunct Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS. His work focuses on the governance of artificial intelligence using compute/computing hardware. Previously, Fist worked as the Head of Strategy & Governance at Fathom Radiant, an artificial intelligence hardware company. Prior to that work, Fist held several senior machine learning engineering positions, and was the Head of Product at Eliiza, a machine learning consultancy. 

 With a background in machine learning and emerging AI hardware technologies, Fist brings a technical lens to problems in national security and AI policy. His career has ranged from developing and deploying AI systems for Fortune 500 companies, to writing code currently being used on a satellite in orbit. He has built software in a wide range of domains, including agriculture, finance, telecommunications, and space navigation. Originally from Australia, Fist holds a B.A. (Honors) in Aerospace Engineering, and a B.A. in Political Science, from Monash University.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 Recent 
 Publications & News
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In The News 
 
 
 
 
 Technology & National Security 
 

 
 How Much Could China Gain from Access to Powerful Nvidia Chips? 

 
 
 By 
 Tim Fist 

 
 
 
 The New York Times

 December 9, 2025

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In The News 
 
 
 
 
 Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security 
 

 
 Republican Lawmaker Says Don’t Give China Nvidia’s Blackwell Chip 

 
 
 By 
 Tim Fist 

 
 
 
 Reuters

 October 30, 2025

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Video 
 
 
 
 
 Technology & National Security 
 

 
 AI Action Plan: Janet Egan, Jessica Brandt, Neil Chilson, and Tim Fist 

 
 
 By 
 Janet Egan & Tim Fist 

 
 
 
 July 24, 2025

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In The News 
 
 
 
 
 Technology & National Security 
 

 
 Bill to Mandate Chip Export Location Tracking Would Backfire, Tech Policy Experts Say 

 
 
 By 
 Tim Fist 

 
 
 
 Export Compliance Daily

 July 18, 2025

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In The News 
 
 
 
 
 Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security 
 

 
 Trump Just Handed China a Major Advantage on AI 

 
 
 By 
 Tim Fist 

 
 
 
 Vox

 July 16, 2025

 
 

 

 
 View All Reports by Tim Fist 
 View All Articles & Multimedia by Tim Fist 
 

 

 
 
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Resource ID: kb-4a4daef76fd9afcc | Stable ID: sid_aAVsMOcCy0