Hi, I’m Isaak. I work on AI governance at Apollo Research. My background is in computational economics, and these days I think mostly about the economics and governance of AI. I’m trying to find pathways through the promise and perils of transformative AI, so that we can all have our cake and eat it too.

Some recent work: 

• Effective societal communication and coordination on risks requires a shared language for AI incidents. (2026, with Owen, Collins, Wong, Mylius, Slattery, McGregor)

• Coordinating on mitigation capabilities beforehand buys time in a crisis, both among labs and state actors. (2026)

More on Google Scholar, and I post the occasional thought on Substack.

When I’m not working, I’m usually dancing (contemporary and partnering).

Say hi

i[dot]a.mengesha[at]gmail.com